Trained By the Trainee
by Live4Dance88
Summary: In the midst of a dangerous connection between two worlds, a young girl moves to the newly rebuilt Midgar to work in hopes of making money to save her mother's life. With Vincent Valentine as her trainer who knows what will happen. FFX2 world crossover.
1. New Life in Midgar

This story takes place two years after the end of DoC. I kept the Shalua character alive, though. Probably every character in the story will have their own POV moments. I don't know what it is, but I just can't write in third person. Hope you all enjoy!

Oh this fic is also a slight FFX-2 crossover.

Disclaimer I don't own any FF7 or 10 2 characters, settings or any of that stuff.

By the way THANK YOU to all my reviewers who have kept up with my other stories. I hope this story pleases you all as well. My next story after I finish this one will probably be a sequel to Apartment 102.

**Trained by the Trainee**

**New Life in Midgar**

**∞****Xila****mani****'s POV∞**(see la mah nee)

The rebuilding of Midgar had started only a year and a half ago yet it was already becoming quite the bustling little city. However there was a huge problem affecting the Planet. After Chaos and Omega returned to the planet, strange fiends had been attacking the cities. The former Turks and members of AVALANCHE, and the WRO had all come together in one new organization called the PPRO, the Planet Peace Reserving Organization. The members were being called Pros. A brand new headquarters had been built especially for this new organization. My cousin Yuffie and I planned to move to Midgar all the way from Wutai in order to work with this new organization. Yuffie had refused to take on her princess duties and was exiled from her royal side of the family therefore she moved in with her mother's sister who happens to be _my _mom. Recently my mother had come down with a horrible disease that even the greatest of doctors cannot diagnose. The cost for further examinations was completely outrageous and in order to pay for them, Yuffie and I knew we must go to work. The president of the new PPRO, Reeve was a close family friend of my parents secured us a job, but it was Yuffie, who was good friends with the members of AVALANCHE, that secured us a place to live. Her nice friend Tifa was even letting us move into the spare room of her new house/bar.

"Tifa!"

"Yuffie!"

The two girls ran at each other and hugged for a few minutes. I stood back and smiled even though I felt a little out of place. I glanced around at the other people in the room. There was a guy with blond spikey hair cleaning the biggest sword I had ever seen, a huge black male with a machine gun for an arm, and a red lion like creature with tattoos. I looked through the arch doorway into the bar area where another blond man holding a spear in one hand and smoking a cigarette with the other was seated at the bar drinking a beer with a brunette woman sitting next to him. Upon hearing the commotion he stood and peeped his head out of the doorway.

"Oh hell! Not that little brat again!" He took a puff of his cigarette and shook his head.

"Shut up, Cid!" Yuffie said after pulling away from Tifa. She finally turned to me and began introducing everyone.

"Everyone! This is my cousin Xilamani. Xila, this is Tifa, that blondie over there is Cloud, that drunk idiot is Cid, that's Barrett over there, and that may look like just an animal, but that's Nanaki. Sometimes he acts more human than some of the others in here." She glared hard at Cid who only took another drink and went back to sit at the bar. "And…where's Vincent?"

"Shalua called him in to do inventory, he said. But I doubt he would have come anyways." Tifa answered with a slightly saddened look. She then perked up really quick. "Come on I want to show you the guest room! I've got it set up so cute! You guys are gonna love it!"

I drug my large suitcase up the stairs and down a hallway to the very last room on the left.

"Tada!" Tifa said as she opened the door revealing a rather large bedroom with two twin sized beds on opposite sides of the room. Most of the wood floor was covered with a lavender rug with a few light green dots on it that matched the lavender and lime green striped bed spreads and curtains. There was only one wooden dresser that Yuffie and I would have to share. On the wall that the headboards of the beds were against was a window with a window seat attached. Tifa even covered the seat with a lime green and lavender striped cloth.

"Wow this room is pretty cool! Thanks Tif, you really didn't have to do all of this!" Yuffie said running to the bed on the left side and plopping down on it. I walked towards the bed on the right side of the room and sat down.

"Thank you, Tifa." I said smiling at her.

"No problem…um…how do you say your name again?" She laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, I just go by Xila." I grinned at her.

"Ok, it was nice meeting you Xila. I'll let you two get settled in. Shalua wants to meet with you two at six a.m. sharp tomorrow morning so you might want to get to bed early, especially after such a long trip."

Yuffie and I exchanged wide-eyed glances. Six a.m. was an unknown hour to us. With both responded with a nod and Tifa was gone.

"Iya!" Yuffie said burying her face into a pillow. I looked down at the full length mirror beside the dresser. Yuffie and I did look pretty similar. Most people thought we were sisters, however my hair was much longer, and my mother passed down some unique violet eyes to me that were slightly more almond shaped than Yuffie's big round ones. After we finished unpacking we joined the others downstairs briefly then turned in at around nine o'clock that night.

**∞****Shalua's**** POV∞**

_How you get him to do it is none of my concern._

Damn you Reeve.

_If you value your job as vice president here you'll find some way to persuade him._

And that way is? I asked myself as I walked down the empty hallway of the new building. Although this building had been standing for over six months it still faintly smelled of fresh paint. The walls were a dark blue color and the tiles of the floor were grey. I sighed as I reached the door that read Valentine on the outside. I knew he was still here. If he wasn't out on missions, Vincent never left his office until after ten so he wouldn't have to run into any of us and be forced to speak. I knocked lightly and waited for some sort of response.

The door slowly opened and I looked up at the tall, dark, mysterious man. He had a look on his face that I took as a 'What do you want now?' This would be the third order I've given him today.

"May I step inside your office and talk with you for a minute, Vincent."

He pulled the door open wider and stepped back. He didn't sit so I kept standing as well.

"I just spoke with Reeve and I guess you've heard Yuffie has moved to Midgar." I started, trying to sound casual. He narrowed his eyes at me knowing I didn't come in here for some simple small talk. "Well, it turns out that she and her cousin are here to work for PPRO."

He responded with a grunt of understanding.

"Since Yuffie has had some combat experience we'll let her skip training and become Tifa's partner, but her cousin, Xilamani, will need training." I said hoping Vincent caught where I was going with this. He continued staring at me as if to say 'and?' So I continued. "Reeve feels that Xilamani will be safest training with you since you are the strongest fighter we have here."

"I can't do that." He said with a slight shake of his head. His long hair spread out along his shoulders as he did so.

"I hate to be the bear of bad news, but you have to do it or I'll be forced to fire you. All you have to do is take her with you on missions for four months." I said trying to make the job look easy. The stoic man in front of me gave a rare look of disgust and leaned casually against the wall beside him, sighing loudly in the process.

"If the girl has no combat skills place her doing inventory." He said probably breaking his high score of words in a sentence for the week. He sure wasn't going to make this easy for me.

"There's a meeting tomorrow morning at six. Be there or I'll have to fire you." I said in the same monotone he used with me. There was no use in me standing here trying to persuade him. I knew it would get me no where so I turned on my heels and was out of his office within seconds.

**∞Xila****mani's POV∞**

"Girls! Wake up! You don't want to be late for your first meeting." Tifa said flipping the light switch and blinding both Yuffie and I. We both groaned loudly and sat up to face each other. We both looked horrible, nevertheless we got out of our beds and took turns in the bathroom across the hall. I wore a mid-sleeved violet shirt, and a khaki skirt that reached my knees. Yuffie on the other hand was dressed in a black tank top that looked more like a sports bra and a pair of short dark green shorts.

"Ready?" Cloud was standing by the front door with the keys to his bike in his hand.

"Of course!" Yuffie chirped jumping at Cloud and stealing his keys. "Can I drive?"

"I don't let anyone drive Fenrir, you know that." Cloud said with a slight chuckle. He gave me a small glance then turned to walk out. He sat on the bike first followed by Yuffie, and then I sat at the end holding on to Yuffie for dear life as he sped of causing a slight fishtail effect. At the high speed Cloud drove, we arrived at the new PPRO building in less than five minutes.

The place was so huge! Everything looked so modern compared to the buildings in Wutai. There were people rushing around yelling about reports of fiends here and there. I heard a woman claim that a group of ten people were being held hostage by a group of unfamiliar looking undead soldiers. Groups of soldiers were leaving and groups of beat up, tired looking soldiers were entering. Evidently they were returning from a battle. I had trouble keeping up with Cloud as he zipped through the crowds of people into a busy elevator. We rode up to the fifth floor and walked down a long hallway to a huge room with a long silver and black table. A woman dressed in a ripped skirt and white lab coat greeted us at the door.

"Shalua! Long time no see!" Yuffie said attempting to give the woman a hug, but was politely shut down.

"We've got a lot of things to discuss today. We'll pick up on old times later. Did you happen to pass Vincent on the way here?" she asked looking past us at the empty doorway. I walked passed her I looked out the huge glass window of the room and watched all of the construction works far out on the land working on more new buildings.

Yuffie stood beside me. "Wow! They're gonna have this city rebuilt in no time!"

"Hey girls! Let's get this started." Shalua said walking over to the head of the table. The rest of us took a seat near hers. It was only Cloud, Yuffie, a few other new people, and me there. The distant sound of metal shoes hitting the hard floor could be heard and then a tall man dressed in all black with a tattered red cloak that covered his shoulders, neck, and all the way up to his lips. His long black hair and dark red bandana covered nearly the rest of his face. From I could see, he didn't look very happy. Yuffie hopped up from the chair she was almost seated at and skipped over to him.

"Vinnie! Did ya miss me?!" she asked giving the fabric that hung off of his shoulders a slight tug. He looked at her for a while then turned to take a seat next to Cloud and right across from me.

"Heeeey…not even a little bit? A little itty bitty bit?" Yuffie asked hovering over the now seated man. He gave an exasperated sigh followed by a slight nod.

"Woo hoo!" she then quickly took the seat closest to Shalua and right next to me. I gave Vincent a brief glance and was surprised to see him already looking at me. I knew I was blushing right then. There was no way to hide it besides to turn my face and let my hair fall over my cheek. I couldn't even pay attention to what Shalua was saying because of those deep garnet eyes analyzing me. Just from the slight glance, I could see those eyes held back so much emotion deep inside. I was really good at reading people, but also easily read myself.

**∞Vincent****'s POV∞**

What is Shalua thinking? Whose idea is this? Look at her… She wouldn't last one minute in combat. How am I supposed to train this? The girl shyly turned her face away from me, hiding behind her long black hair. Hm… a cousin of Yuffie? I beg to differ. I finally tuned into what Shalua was saying.

"We must fight to keep this planet safe! No matter what it takes. Soon PPRO will develop an investigation group that will work solely on finding the source of these fiends…"

I looked back at the girl again, tuning Shalua out. Well, at least she was a good listener. She watched Shalua intently as she went on explaining the purposes and goals of the PPRO. All which was useless information to me. The vice president then rested her eyes on me.

"Vincent, this is Xilamani, your new trainee. Her parents are good friends with Reeve. He trusts that you will treat her well and equip her with the skills she needs to succeed here." The girl raised her eyes to mine. So that's why… a friend to her parents. I knew there must be a deeper reason to why Reeve would stick me to such a task. She put a section of hair behind her ears several times with unsteady hands. Do I have such a presence?

**∞Xila****mani's POV∞**

Tifa then entered the room taking everyone's focus off of me. She smiled at everyone in the room then waved at Yuffie. "Hey partner! Cid's waiting outside with his new plane. Our first mission together is at the Chocobo Ranch. They said something about some kind of Chocobo Eater fiend there terrorizing the poor chocobos."

"Not the chocobos! Let's go!" Yuffie shot out of her chair and she and Tifa were gone. Cloud had a group of five men that he would be training. They slowly gathered as well leaving Vincent and me sitting at the table facing each other.

I smiled and let out a nervous laugh. "Uh…" I couldn't force myself to say anything else. I looked down at the table.

"Vincent, since Xila here is a newcomer. I want you to start out with mild missions. A farmer in between here and Kalm has been complaining about some cactus like fiends ruining his crops." Shalua handed him a paper that I assumed had the man's address and other info on it. He folded the paper four times and tucked it under his cloak. He stood and began to leave. I wasn't sure what to do so I remained sitting. Once he reached the doorway he looked over his shoulder at me.

"Let's go." His deep voice took on a rather harsh tone. I quickly gathered my bag that I brought with me and hurried behind him. It was so hard keeping up with this man's quick large strides. He had such a powerful walk. I wanted to just stand still and watch him. He carried himself so well…

He stopped suddenly and faced the elevator. It was already on its way to our floor so there was no need to press a button. The doors opened and everyone in the elevator walked out leaving it empty for Vincent and me. I hesitantly followed him in there and watched as he pushed the button labeled B1. This place had a basement?

I gasped as the elevator suddenly started moving down. Living in Wutai, I had little experience with elevators or many other modern machines. Vincent didn't seem to notice. He leaned against the back of the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest. I was thankful his piercing eyes were glaring at the doors instead of at me. I couldn't even begin to imagine what training with this man was going to be like.

**∞∞**

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

"Hey, whaddya thinks down there?" Rikku asked. Rikku, Paine and I were all surrounded by a mysterious hole out in the middle of Bikanel Dessert. Strange fiends had been pouring out of it and causing damage to the Al Bhed's new Home. There is even a rumor that a strange man dressed in a black cloak with silver hair climbed out of this hole. There have also been countless murders around Spira with more rumors of a black cloaked man tied to them.

"I don't know…" I said taking a step back. The hole was docile at the moment, but who knows when it would erupt with more fiends so I tried to keep my distance. Rikku began speaking again but in that same moment I thought I heard…whistling…

"Shh…" I said quickly. I heard the whistling again this time it was more prominent. Could it really be…him? Maybe I had finally found the tie between our two worlds!

"Yuna"

"Yunie!"

I heard my friends yell as I jumped forward into the hole.


	2. The First Mission

**Trained By the Trainee**

**The First Mission**

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

I followed my new tall, dark trainer into a room in the basement labeled 'Guns'. There were millions of guns and tons of little parts of guns all over the place. The place had a musty smell much like most basements, but with an added metallic smell. Vincent paid me no mind as he scanned over a few guns, picking them up and looking them over. All of a sudden he spun around, threw his arm out and shot one of the guns hitting the previously unseen target that was hanging in the air squarely in the red center.

"Wow…" I spoke without even thinking. I looked up at my trainer whose eyes were fixed upon the hole in the center of the target. His eyes slowly lowered to the gun in his hand. He frowned down at it and tossed it aside causing me to jump slightly. He moved along the table examining more guns until he came across the smallest gun I had ever seen. As I watched him hold it for a while, I noticed his gloved hand was slightly bigger than the tiny weapon. He threw his arm out again shooting straight through the hole he had previously made with the last gun. Amazing… I should feel honored to have such a trainer.

He twirled the gun around on his finger so the butt of it was pointed towards me. He held the gun closer to me and nodded towards the target.

"Oh…me? I…I've never shot a gun before." I was so nervous my voice didn't even sound like my own. Vincent took a few steps back obviously worried about his own safety. I held the gun out with one hand at first, but then wrapped both of my unsteady hands around it and squeezed my eyes shut as I pulled the trigger.

"Down!" Vincent yelled. How he realized my bullet was going to hit the metal bar one foot from the target and ricochet in our direction before it happened, I would never know. I settled on the thought that he must just have a really good eye. Those same eyes sent me a bone chilling glare after he stood up straight again.

"Sorry." I muttered looking down at the cement floor.

"Try shooting with your eyes open." He spoke in an effortless monotone. As I looked back at the target from the side I thought I saw him roll his eyes. I kept my eyes on the target as I lifted the gun again and pulled the trigger. This time the bullet hit the paper just right outside of where the circle of the target was.

Vincent let out the second exasperated sigh of the day. "Good enough." I shifted uncomfortably as his eyes dropped to my waist. He was clearly analyzing it, eyes narrowed and all. Is this man serious!? He then turned to a wall with rows of hooks attached to it. Belts with gun holsters were hanging from each of the hooks. He picked a black belt with a small holster on it and handed it to me. I sat the gun on the corner of the table behind me and fastened the belt around my waist. Ok, he wasn't a pervert… He measured my waist by only looking at it for a few seconds. Amazing… I placed the gun my trainer had provided me with in my new belt and quickly followed him as he began to leave.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

I unfolded the paper Shalua gave me with directions to the farm on it and looked it over as I walked out of the building with my pathetic new trainee in tow. Of all people to run into on a day like today, Reno sneakily appeared around the corner of the building wearing that disgusting wry smile of his.

"Wooo! Check her out!" Reno tried to step in front of me but I quickly stepped aside pushing my trainee along. We had no time for this. Rude appeared along side of Reno as well. I heard him respond to Reno's comments about the girl's physique as 'not as good as Tifa's.' The two began arguing in the street over the matter. I shook my head and sighed. We approached my vehicle which was nothing more than a small car on three wheels with one large seat in the front. There were no doors, as you were to jump into it. I motioned for the girl to get in the car and watched her quietly for a while as she tried to raise her short leg over the side of the car.

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

How am I supposed to… I gasped out loud when I felt two hands under my armpits as I was lifted into the air and practically thrown into the vehicle. My knee hit small dashboard with a loud thud. Ouch…my first battle scar. Not quite how I pictured getting it. I turned to shoot Vincent a dirty look, but he had already zipped around the small car and was seated on the other side of me. I watched him for a while as he scanned over the directions for a few more minutes before leaving the parking lot. This car drove so smooth! Nothing like the buggies and other means of transportation in Wutai. Unlike Yuffie, I had never been outside of Wutai.

Outside the center of this new Midgar were mostly construction sites. I watched all the men in bright yellow and orange outfits working hard as we passed by them. Outside of the city were mainly just grasslands. I took my eyes off the dull scenery and studied my bruising knee. Vincent glanced at it for a second, but said nothing. In fact, neither of us said anything the whole trip which was only about twenty minutes. As soon as Vincent parked his car next to the red barn a tiny little moving cactus approached my side of the vehicle. It made a squeaky noise at me before dashing off.

As Vincent and I got out of the car, a little old man wearing a huge straw hat and blue jean overalls ran towards us.

"Didya see that!! That's what I'm talking about! Those damn cactuar! They come and go so fast there aint even time to catch the suckers." The old man leaned forward as he tried to catch his breath. I squinted out into the sun as I tried to see if I could still see the running cactus in the distance. I couldn't.

"We'll see what we can do." Vincent began walking in the tall grass towards the farmer's garden. I followed a few feet behind him. I hate tall grass! I hated the way it felt on my bare calves. My head shot up upon hearing a gunshot. Vincent fired several and finally killed the little cactus. We both hovered over it.

"Nothing suspicious here. I've seen this type of fiend before." He spoke as if he was only talking to himself and not to me. We both stood and turned back. I felt the ground tremor beneath me and I heard the same squeaky noise that little cactus had made only louder and much deeper. The ground shook again harder and harder until I turned around and…

"Run!" Vincent yelled pointing in the direction of the barn. I couldn't run, I was frozen with fear. A huge and I mean _huge_ cactus fiend marched towards us obviously upset that we had killed one of its kind. I looked over at my trainer who was also in a bit of a stupor, staring at the large green fiend. He quickly snapped out of it and began firing rapidly. Hearing the gunshots again woke me out of my daze and I began running towards the barn. Other little cacti came out of nowhere and were chasing me. I screamed and fell to the ground as I felt needles being stabbed into my calf. I looked down and saw at least ten needles stuck into the back of my leg. I watched the little cacti as they prepared themselves for another attack. I pushed myself off the ground and ran as fast as I could on my burning leg until I was safely inside the farmer's house beside the barn.

"Did they stick you!? Damn those bastards… Helga, come help her!" The old farmer said to his wife who was sitting in her chair knitting a beautiful lavender blanket.

"Oh my, child." The old woman said to me as she saw the needles in my calf. She led me over to their couch and motioned for me to lie down. After gathering her first aid supplies, she knelt down at the end of the couch beside my legs and began cleaning the area where all the needles were stuck in with a cotton ball. I groaned out loud when I felt her tug on one of the needles.

"I'm sorry…but dear they must come out." She said tugging harder and pulling the first needle out of my skin. I couldn't suppress my scream of agony. She then tugged at the second one.

"Oooww!! Please don't…" Despite my cries she snatched the second needle from my skin. Once she reached the eighth needle I heard the door open and metal shoes clanking against the wood floors of the house.

"Problem solved." I heard a deep voice above me say.

"There's something about those cactuar, they were just…different. More aggressive." The old man said.

"I noticed." Vincent responded. "…and why here? Cactuar are rarely seen outside of the desert." There was a sigh from him and the old man followed by another loud groan from me.

"Almost done, dear." The older woman said as she yanked out the next one. "Last one." She said before gently pulling out the last needle. I felt a strong burning sensation as she dabbed medicine on my calf before wrapping gauze around it. Once she was done I sat up and faced my trainer. He stood there almost impatiently waiting.

"Let's head back." he said not even acknowledging my injury. I limped beside him as we left the old couple's house.

"Thank you so much." I said and bowed to the woman.

"No problem, dear."

I hurried behind Vincent as he had almost made it to the car in that brief moment I had turned back to thank them. He was a bit gentler lifting me into the car this time. The drive back to the headquarters seemed shorter than the drive there. Once we arrived, I was unsure of where to go so I kept following Vincent all the way into his office.

"Close the door." He muttered as he sat down at his desk and checked his phone messages. He evidently hadn't checked them today since there were only reminders of the meeting this morning. After shutting the door since Vincent didn't show me a place to sit, I sat down on a thick file cabinet that was as tall as my hip.

"What time do you want me to be here tomorrow?" I asked as I scooted off the file cabinet after realizing how uncomfortable it was.

"You are staying at Lockhart's residence, are you not?" he casually looked up at me from his desk. Standing higher than him gave me the opportunity to see the other half of his face under that cloak. So far, everything about this man has been amazing. His looks were no exception. I mentally scolded myself after having thoughts of those pale, soft looking lips against mine. I can't be having these thoughts about my trainer! And so soon! I highly doubted he was thinking anything of the sort towards me. Even though I am twenty years old, I have the face of a child and my shyness didn't help me seem anymore like an adult. I nodded at his question.

"I'll fetch you when I get word of our newest mission." After he spoke he reached under his cloak and handed me 400 gil. "Your share."

I laughed nervously. "But I didn't really do anything…" I bowed my head as I took the money from him.

"You're right, you didn't. So don't expect the same generosity out of me next time." He held intense eye contact with me for a moment to show he was serious and then waved his hand as if to dismiss me.

**∞****Shalua's**** POV****∞**

Upon seeing the young new trainee leave Vincent's office, I hurried towards her. I noticed she had a bandage around her leg.

"Oh what happened?" I asked using as much enthusiasm as I could. I was sure after spending a day with Vincent she would need a few people who at least pretended to care about her around.

"Oh, I just got stuck by a few needles." Her smile was almost sickeningly too sweet. I faintly returned the gesture.

"Yeah…so how was your first mission with Mr. Valentine? I trust he treated you well…?" I walked along side her as we headed to the elevators. I needed to go down anyways so I may as well join her.

"He was...nice…uh…maybe strict, but that's a good thing in a trainer, I guess." Even my presence seemed to make the girl nervous.

I chuckled softly. "He's not for games, that's for sure. By the way, what was up with cactuar in the grasslands?"

The girl shrugged. "I've never actually seen a…cactuar… I've never been out of Wutai." Never been out of Wutai…wow…

"Well, it seems you've got quite a lot to learn. If you ever have problems with Vincent, because I know he can be an antisocial asshole at times, please let me know and I'll straighten him out." I looked at her seriously. She nodded again and sent me that same sweet smile.

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

I woke up in a field of tall grass. I must have fainted after being attacked by the Jumbo Cactuar and his gang. My eyes widened. The Gullwings and I defeated them long ago! What were they doing alive? I then remembered jumping through the whole. I'm here! I stood up and looked around. I paused and listened really hard trying to hear the whistling. I closed my eyes.

Tidus…are you here?

There was no response and I opened my eyes. My stomach growled, I should have known better than to jump through a portal to a new world on an empty stomach. I walked towards a tall red barn that I could see in the distance. I met a nice old couple there, they fed me and let me rest in their spare room. I informed them that I was not from around here. As I was leaving they told me of a place called Midgar not far from here. They said maybe someone could help me there.

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

I came out of the shower, dressed into my pajamas and walked out into Yuffie's and my room. Yuffie was already in her bed with the covers up to her chin. I thought she was asleep so I quietly climbed into my own bed and turned off the lamp on my side of the room.

"Psst! What was it like?" Yuffie whispered in the darkness.

"What?"

"Training with Vinnie!" she said in a louder voice. I heard blankets shuffling and suddenly light illuminated the room again. Yuffie and turned on her lamp and was now sitting up on her bed. I sat up as well.

I frowned. "He's not very nice." There was no need to lie to Yuffie. We had always been totally honest with each other. Except for the times Yuffie would steal my clothes or jewelry, but eventually she'd be honest and return them. Most often once the clothes were worn out and the metal jewelry was tarnished.

"That's just his nature. He's not intentionally mean. He just doesn't have a lot of trust for other people, so he likes being alone. That's why Tifa said he doesn't have a partner. At PPRO you are required to have a partner just incase something happens to you."

I nodded to show I understood. "So me tagging along…."

"It probably bothers him, but he'll get over it. He traveled with Tifa, Cloud, Barrett, Cid, Nanaki, _and _Cait Sith when we saved the planet from Sephiroth. And me of course, bugging him all day." She giggled. I gave her a look. "Hey! He lived didn't he!"

I sighed and then changed the subject. "So how much gil did you make?"

"1000." She answered showing me the money. "You?"

"1000?! I only made 400 gil." I placed my money with hers and we put it in the top drawer of the small table that was against the wall at the end of my bed. "So how was your mission?"

"Pretty crazy. I don't know where that monster came from, but when we killed it, little rainbow colored lights came out of it and swirled up into the sky. They were really pretty." Yuffie went on and on about the poor chocobos and all the damage the monster did to the ranch. I laid back down in my bed after listening to her story and tried to clear my mind so I could rest up for tomorrow. Who knows what would be in store for me.


	3. The Source

**Trained By the Trainee**

**The Source**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

I sipped the dark, bitter liquid from the glass mug. I could never sleep much. When I'm alone, with nothing to do but think…the nightmares come. That's why I chose to work for PPRO. Not many people understood my loyalty to the organization as they all viewed me as a brooding, uncaring person who wishes for nothing more than slumber in a coffin. In all honesty, I did want to move on with my life…or what's left of it. I promised this much to Lucrecia the last time I visited her cave. The only way I could move on was to keep busy, to keep myself from thinking…to keep the nightmares away.

An alert of a new message on my computer drew my attention. I moved my gloved hand from the warm mug to the mouse and clicked to see what Shalua had to say.

_Huge meeting at ten o'clock at the meeting hall on the second floor.__ Bring your trainee and do __**not**__ be late._

I sighed loudly. This was one nightmare I wasn't going to be able to escape. I downed the last bit of my coffee and hurried out of my office. I opened the cell phone and found the number to Tifa's residence.

"Hello, this is Tifa."

"This is Vincent. Did you get Shalua's message?" I stood outside my office and leaned against the hard wall.

"Yes, we're on our way." She answered.

"Is the girl with you?" My living nightmare.

"Her _name_ is Xilamani and yes she's with us. See ya in a bit, bye!" I didn't bother returning the farewell, but hung up without saying anything further.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

Tifa, Yuffie, and I took a taxi since we wouldn't all fit on Cloud's bike. After Tifa, who sat in the middle of Yuffie and I, hung up her phone she turned to me.

"That was Vincent making sure you were with us." She smiled at my shocked expression. Wow you mean to say he actually thought about me?

"Oh…" I replied.

Once we got into the building it was 9:55 and an announcement of the meeting I was to attend rang out through the speakers. Tifa grabbed my hand and Yuffie's and ran with us into the elevator. We only had to go to the second floor so it was a quick ride. We burst through the doors at 9:58 to see Cloud, Barret, Cid, Cait Sith, Nanaki, and about ten former WRO soldiers. Beside Shalua who stood at the head of the table instead of sitting was a young girl with brown hair and a unique set of mismatch colored eyes. She smiled and bowed her head to us as we came close to the table. She wore a pair of very short shorts, and a revealing white top with pink trim at the bottom. I wished I had that kind of confidence with my body. I wore a mid sleeved, light blue shirt and gaucho styled jean capris. I wore my hair back in a long braid that reached the rim of my pants. Yuffie snuck up behind me and pushed me towards the seat next to Vincent. I turned around to glare at her but with her stealthy ways she was already on the other side of the table sitting directly across from me. I couldn't even look at Vincent. He intimidated me so…

Shalua cleared her throat and began speaking. "Incase none of you have caught the news this morning, we have found the source of the fiends invading the Planet. This young woman is Yuna. Yuna, why don't you explain to the employees of Section 2 where you're from and what you know." Shalua then took a seat at the head of the table and Yuna remained standing alone. She laughed a bit nervously before she began speaking.

"The fiends you have been seeing are from Spira. Spira is the planet that I come from. We too were experiencing the appearance of strange fiends. There is also a strange man that has come through to our planet. He's been described as tall with silver hair and he is said to wear a black cloak.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled standing. "But…how…?"

"It seems…what has died on your planet has access to our planet, and vice versa. The fiends you've seen here, the Chocobo Eater, the Jumbo Cactuar and his gang... I don't know if you've seen them yet…but the Dark Aeons may also appear here. Worst of all…Sin may appear here. These have been already defeated on our planet and sent to the Farplane."

"Dark Aeons? Sin? Farplane? " Yuffie's face twisted into a look of confusion. Everyone else nodded with her questions as if they would like to know too. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Vincent staring up at her with interest as well.

"It's so much to explain all at once, but…I'll do all I can to help you…as long as someone will offer me shelter."

Tifa instantly chimed in. "I'll make room for you at my place. I've already got two guests. The more the merrier!"

Yuna smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

Shalua then took over again. "Our next step is finding the actual portal you came through. Maybe there is a way to seal it before these more threatening fiends that you've spoken of have the chance to enter."

"In Spira, the portal was in the ground, but on your planet the portal must be high in the air. I remember falling for a long time." Yuna said putting her hands behind her back and swaying back and forth. "I fell in the grasslands not far from here, near a farm. The old couple there are the ones that lead me to Midgar."

"I see…Well shall we continue saving the Planet gang? Vincent, take Xilamani to Kalm. Reports say that fossil like fiends have built a wall in the middle of the town and are turning people to stone. Take this pack of Softs and be careful."

"Tifa, Yuffie I want you two to take your first long distance mission with Cid and Barret. Yuna, I want you to go with them. The fiend here had been described as Shiva from the summoning materia. However it states here that no one nearby owns the materia or has used it. I've already called Icicle Inn and made reservations for you, the fiend has been spotted near there."

"Shiva…I wonder if it's a dark Aeon…" Yuna put her finger to her lips as she thought.

"Oh! Vincent…" Shalua dug in the pocket of her white lab coat and handed him two empty vials. "Get a DNA sample of the fiends while you are there."

"Yuna when you return from the mission I'll have to ask you to join the science department for a while to help us identify these fiends."

Yuna nodded. Everyone in the room cleared and once again I was left alone with my trainer. He stayed seated for a while seemingly lost in thought.

"What's dead here…has access there…" he mumbled softly. He was dressed in the same clothes that I saw him in yesterday. Maybe they weren't the exact same… from the seat next to him I could smell his scent and it smelled fresh. I finally dared to look at his face. His eyebrows were furrowed as he stared down at the table in deep concentration. I didn't want to bother him, as I was in no rush to go to this next mission. I just knew I would get turned to stone today and Vincent wouldn't use a Soft to save my life.

I both gasped and jumped when Vincent stood quickly. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let's go." I hopped up and jogged after him. Once we reached his car instead of relying on him to lift me I ran at it and jumped, giving myself a final push off of the side of the car and landed in the seat. I didn't do it quite as gracefully as Vincent, but at least I had done it. Vincent didn't acknowledge my achievement, nor did he make any comments. He zoomed off towards Kalm.

I ignored his cold presence and looked out ahead at the blue sky. The weather was amazing today. The warm air sweeping against my face as we increased speed felt nice against my skin. I smiled into the sun and kept looking towards the sky. Tonight I would write my parents and tell them of this new place I lived in. I caught Vincent stealing a short glance at me. He was probably wondering what I was smiling about. He should learn to do it every once in a while. I bet he'd look even more handsome with a nice smile across his face. Once again I caught myself staring at what I could see of his face. His hair was flying back in the wind, so all of his bangs were out of his eyes. The collar of his cloak had also blown down under his chin in the wind. My eyes travelled down to the pale skin of his arm that was exposed today. So this _was_ a different outfit. Maybe same cloak… Yesterday his shirt was long sleeved, leaving no skin exposed at all. He was also wearing a different glove, that exposed the top part of his fingers. I made a note to ask Yuffie why his other arm was a gold claw. She seemed to know enough about him. During all my analyzations I failed to noticed we'd arrived in Kalm. All I've seen of Kalm are pictures of when my father travelled here. He is the only one out of my immediate family that has been outside of Wutai.

People evidently recognized Vincent as part of the PPRO as men came up to the car pointing us in the direction of the fiends. My heart skipped a beat when we turned a corner and saw a line of stones with moving fossils inside of them. The crackling sounds they made as they moved made my stomach churn. Vincent reversed his car and parked right around the corner. I slowly got out of the car and watched as Vincent pulled a long rifle out of a small space in the back of his car. "Take this." He said pushing the gun at me. I almost fell over it was so heavy. He grabbed another even bigger rifle for himself and walked towards the end of the wall. I followed close behind him and watched him peer around the corner. I heard a hissing noise and green powder filled the air. Vincent backed away and put his face into the corner of his arm.

"Don't breathe." He said. I was still behind him looking at the back of him. He didn't even turn his head as he spoke to me.

I covered my face with my arm as well and didn't breathe. After the air cleared Vincent brought his arm down and I saw it safe to breathe again. I watched as the calm man in front of me looked up.

"We're going up." He simply stated as he grabbed me by my upper arm and shot high into the air. He landed gracefully on the roof of the building we were standing up against. I landed not so gracefully and dropped the rifle he gave me in the process. I tried to stop it with my foot, but it slid down the slanted roof and fell to the ground with a loud clank. Vincent sighed loudly and looked directly into my eyes.

"I trust you have the gil to replace that."

I looked down at the brown roof tiles I stood on. "I'm sorry…" When I dared to raise my head again I noticed Vincent was squatted down with his gun aimed below us. He fired one shot and scooted back out of view. I watched as lights with rainbow colored tails swirled around up into the sky. I looked down at my watch and saw it was a little after one o'clock. It had gotten so much hotter all of a sudden as the sun beat down on me. How Vincent was surviving under all of those clothes, I'd never know. I stayed back, but watched closely as he sniped almost every one of the creepy fiends. I leaned closer to the edge of the room to see only one left.

"Stay here." He said before jumping down behind the fiend. His landing was so quiet; the fiend didn't even notice Vincent behind it. I watched as Vincent punched his claw into the rock part of the fiend and picked up tiny pieces of the rock that crumbled off of it and placed them into a vial. As soon as the fiend spun its huge rectangular shaped body around, Vincent shot up into the air again and gave it a fatal blow from his rifle while he was still upside down in the air. I watched in awe as he made an effortless landing next to me.

"Mission complete." He stood and grabbed me roughly by my waist and threw me over his shoulder as if I were a sack of potatoes. He jumped down from the roof and landed softly on the ground next to the gun I broke. He put me down and picked up the broken gun. He sighed loudly and threw it in the back of the car.

**∞****Vincent's POV****∞**

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. I could pity the poor girl. She'd never gain the experience needed to succeed at PPRO. Not even the best trainer on the Planet or in any other world for that matter could help her. I collected the reward from the mayor of Kalm and got back into the car. If I was in this organization for the money, I would be infuriated over having to give half to a worthless trainee that didn't deserve it. I didn't give the girl her share immediately but waited until we were back at the headquarters inside my office. I opened the door and motioned for her to walk in first. After I stepped in, I slammed the door behind me. Perhaps instilling a little fear in the girl would enhance her performance.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I knew he was upset over the broken gun, but my goodness… I cowered in a corner as the taller man walked closer to me.

"What's your purpose here?" he asked harshly. I kept my eyes to the floor.

"I…I…" My heart raced as he took another step closer to me.

"If you're not serious, go home. I do not have time for this." I finally looked up into those dark eyes above me.

"I'm serious…I'll try harder, I promise." His eyes seemed to soften and he backed away from me.

"Fine...your dismissed." He said turning away from me. I paused before leaving. He didn't give me my share! I knew I didn't deserve it…

As soon as I put my hand on the door handle he cleared his throat. "Mark my words this is the _last_ time you will be paid for doing nothing." He shoved the several pieces of gil into my hand and whirled around to take a seat at his desk. As I walked down the hall, I thought to myself tomorrow I _have_ to do better. I really wanted to prove to him that I wasn't worthless dead weight. I wanted this man to see _me_ as a person and respect me for what I know I can do. I picked up my pace and walked with my head high. Tomorrow…

**∞Rikku's POV∞**

"But guys! We gotta find Yunie!" I stood on the airship looking back and forth between dumb and dumber. Shinra and Brother were completely against me jumping in to find Yuna. Paine stood off to the side.

"Wait…Rikku, if you must go…take a commsphere." Hey that kid's finally making sense.

"Great idea!" I jumped up and spun around. "Ok guys land this thing! I'm gonna go find Yunie!"

"Rrrrikku!" Brother started up again, but I quickly shut him down.

"Cdivv ed! Let's get going! Hurry up!" He turned around to face the front of the airship and picked up the speed.

"Paine…are ya gonna come with me?" I asked approaching her.

"Someone's got to stick around and protect Spira from all these fiends. Go get Yuna, and bring her back safely." I nodded and said nothing more. I didn't wanna get on her nerves by talking too much. Once we finally got to Bikanel I hopped off the airship and ran over to the hole we discovered yesterday.

"Wish me luck! Tell dad 'E muja res' for me if I don't come back ok, Brother." I said to my sulking big brother. I waved at everyone one last time before jumping into the purplish black hole.


	4. Pyreflies

**ChristalSteele**you are absolutely right, Vincent's not doing his job and he is not being fair. He's gotta learn that just because combat comes natural to him doesn't mean it will for everyone else… Don't worry everyone will get their fair treatment in the end. THANKS for the review!

Thanks to everyone for your reviews

**Trained By the Trainee**

**Pyreflies**

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

When I returned to Tifa's house, there was no one there. Of course they were all on their out of town mission. There was a huge sign that read "Bar Closed" above the door. I sighed with relief knowing Tifa would never expect me to take over for her. Although, since this place was fairly new, there weren't many customers. I heard a door open upstairs and heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I backed up against the front door and held my chest assuming I would face a burglar. Instead, I saw Cloud walking into the entrance area where I stood with his sword drawn.

"Oh…yeah that's right, I forgot you stayed here too." He laid his sword against the wall next to the empty coat rack and walked inside the living room. I followed him. Did he live here too? I do see an awful lot of him around here.

"Do you live here too?" I finally asked once we were both seated several feet apart on the long tan colored couch. He picked up a newspaper off of the coffee table in front of us. I noticed this living room didn't have a TV. The only TV in this house was the small TV attached to the wall in the bar area.

"It's suppose to be a secret, but since you and Yuffie now live here…I guess it will have to come out." He sighed and continued reading. I could tell he didn't want to share anymore details so I didn't press for more. I got up and went to my room. I did feel a little relieved that there was at least one other person in the house. With a strong fighter like Cloud around, I was sure I was safe. I dug through my things and found a pen and some paper so I could write my parents and send them some gil. On top of paying for my mother's medical assistance, my father had quit his job so he could take care of her, so the money I made here would also go towards our monthly bills. I took the 1000 gil Yuffie had made and the 800 gil I had made over my two days of hell and placed the coins in an envelope first. Then, I began writing.

_Dear Mom and Dad_

_I hope you both are well. Mom, how are you holding up? __I hope you can stay strong until I am able to come up with the 400,000 __gil__. I am well. The job has proved to be quite difficult. I have an amazingly skilled trainer. Though…I think maybe because his talent is so natural he cannot understand how hard it is for someone like me with no natural combative skills. Other than that small obstacle, I am doing fine. Yuffie is well too. We are staying with her friends from AVALANCHE. They are all really nice people. Tifa Lockhart is the owner of this house and the bar that's attached. She is also Yuffie's partner. I've never __seen her in combat, but I've heard she's an amazing martial artist. I haven't gotten to know any of the others. Well, I should get some rest for my next mission tomorrow. Write me back soon._

_Love always,_

_Xilamani_

I folded up the letter and placed it inside of the envelope with the coins. I sealed it then hopped off my bed to attach the letter to the mailbox so the mailman would pick it up and send it for me. I had no clue where the post office could be and since everything in Midgar looked so modern, I probably wouldn't even recognize it if I passed it on the street.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

It took me until nine at night to fix the rifle she broke. I shot it several times at the target in the gun room. After tweaking it a few more times and shooting it again, I was satisfied with its performance once more.

The city was very quiet tonight. There wasn't a single person on the streets as I drove back to my small house on the other side of the city. I felt a rain drop hit my finger tips on the steering wheel. I immediately activated the hood of my car. It enclosed me in the small vehicle shielding me from the rain that had now begun to fall harder. I pulled into my very small driveway that was just big enough to fit my compact vehicle. I shut the engine off and just sat there listening to the rain and slight thunder. I would wait until the rain subsided just a bit before I tried walking into the house. I watched in my rear view mirror as a bright bolt of lightening touched the top of my neighbors' tree. I heard a high pitch yelp that put me in mind of Yuffie. Wait…it couldn't be Yuffie. I squinted harder into the rear view mirror at a shadow that was running towards my house.

Another bright light…followed by another yelp. This time it was closer. I glance into my side mirror and almost gave a yelp of my own. Green eyes with a dark swirl in the center met mine through the mirror.

"Help me…" a voice whimpered. She did sound like Yuffie. I deactivated my car's hood and faced the soaking wet girl directly.

**∞****Rikku's**** POV∞**

As soon the hood of the car came down I gasped. A man with dark hair and crimson eyes that almost glowed in the dark faced me. I couldn't tell if his intentions were to help me or to hurt me. I hate thunder and lightening though. Anything this man could was about to do to me couldn't be as bad as spending the night out here in this storm.

"Who are you?" he finally said something. And he speaks English! I was worried maybe the people around here wouldn't speak the same language. I wonder if there's any Al Bhed here… Oh! I should probably answer.

"Rikku."

"What are you doing here?" I stepped back as he jumped out of his car and landed in front of me. Wow people here are really tall! Maybe it's just him…

"I'm looking for a girl named Yuna." He only stared down at me over the high collar of his creepy looking cape…thingy.

"She's my cousin…we're from Spira. Have you seen her?" Certainly if I got here in one piece Yunie did too. Another flash of lightening sent me to my knees in front of the man.

"I've seen her." I heard his deep voice above me. I kept my eyes to the wet pavement of his driveway. I heard paper shuffling above me and when I looked up, the man was holding a piece of paper with chicken scratchy writing on it. "She's out of town now, but when she returns tomorrow, you'll find her there." After handing me the paper he turned and was inside his house before I could say anything else.

"Wait! Ooohh….!" I stomped my foot. I walked hunched over hugging myself occasionally looking at the piece of paper. I'll never find this place… "Ahh!!" I screamed as a loud clasp of thunder seemed to shake this planet. I began running… until I came upon a place with the same number as the number on the paper. I looked up at the building. "Bar Closed…" I read the blue neon sign aloud. Bar?! What was Yunie doing at a bar!? And it's closed…

I watched as a girl came out of the building and placed a letter on the mailbox. "Hey!" I ran up to her. She took a few steps back.

"Do you know a girl named Yuna? I met a tall, dark, creepy lookin dude and he told me I could find Yuna here when she gets back from being out of town." The girl seemed to warm up to me once she realized why I was here.

"Yes. Tifa is the owner of this house and this bar and when she and Yuna return from their mission, Yuna will stay here with us." Another loud thunder made me run inside of the place. Oh! So this was a house too. Whew! I was scared there for a minute. I thought maybe Yunie had been turned into some kind of pole dancer in a bar or somethin.

"Ya think maybe I could stay the night here? I really hate thunderstorms." I gave the girl my best puppy dog look. She nodded and led me to the room she told me that she shared with her cousin Yuffie.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I told Rikku she could sleep in Yuffie's bed while Yuffie was gone for the night. I hoped Yuffie wouldn't be angry with me. I also allowed her to borrow some of Yuffie's pajamas. They were exactly the same height and size. I woke up the next morning at seven and hurried around the room and bathroom trying to get myself together before I was summoned by my trainer. I promised myself that today I would show him I'm not worthless.

The house phone rang at about eight-thirty. Cloud had left an hour ago, so I was the only one available to answer the phone.

"Yes?"

"This is Vincent. Who is this?" My stomach flipped and filled with butterflies when I heard that voice. I cannot possibly be developing a crush on him. He has done nothing to provoke these sorts of feelings in me. Anyone else would be close to hating him right now for the careless treatment, and half hearted training he's provided.

"Xilamani." I answered.

"Are you able to make it here on your own or do I need to come get you?" I hadn't even done anything wrong yet he already sounded unhappy.

"I…" I really didn't want to ride a taxi on my own… "Would it cause a problem for you to come get me?" I asked. Rikku appeared in the bar area that also served as a kitchen and began looking through the refrigerator for something to eat.

I heard him sigh. "I suppose not. Are you ready?"

"Yes." As soon as that word left my mouth I heard a click. How nice of him…

I turned to Rikku. "My trainer will be here to pick me up in a few minutes…"

"Ok. I'll just wait here until Yunie comes… if that's ok. I promise you can trust me." She smiled with a milk mustache over her lip. She had poured herself a glass of milk and was eating a doughnut from a plate left on the counter. I wanted to tell her that doughnut had been sitting there since yesterday morning, but I decided to keep that too myself. I quickly attached my belt with my tiny gun to me and grabbed my bag. Today I was smart and filled it with snacks and two bottles of water.

As soon as I put my bag on my shoulder I heard someone knock on the door. I hurried as to not keep my trainer waiting. I pulled open the door and gave my unhappy looking trainer a faint smile. He wore his normal get up. Today I bravely wore a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top. I normally do not like to show this much skin, but the weather was so hot here. It never got this hot in Wutai…

"Thank you." I said as we walked down the sidewalk to his car.

"Hmph." Came his response. I hopped into his car only to instantly regret it as my side of the seat was wet. "It rained last night." He said. But it seems he made sure his seat was dry. I sighed loudly and said nothing.

He drove us outside of Midgar all the way to the coast. The ride was entirely silent and I couldn't even enjoy the scenery because of my constant worries of walking around all day looking like I had wet my pants. As if Vincent didn't see me as pathetic enough…

"Our mission today is to scout out the fiends from Spira, kill them, and trap one of the mysterious lights that leave their body as they die. It will then be used for research." He parked his car next to a washed up log and hopped out. I followed close behind him eating one of my granola bars that I packed in my bag. He stopped suddenly causing me to collide with his back. Colliding with him was like colliding with a wall. He stood strong while I fell back on the sand, dropping my snack in the process. Sand particles stuck to my wet behind. I tried to dust them all away but it was proving impossible.

"Be still." Vincent muttered. I finally caught on to what he was looking at. There was a big blue blob scooting its body around in the shallow water. Vincent handed me a jar and the lid.

"I kill, you trap. Got it? Now go." He said pointing to the fiend. I looked down at the jar in my hand and up at the fiend, then back at him.

"Now?" I asked. My voice squeaked as the nerves hit me. What if he missed the fiend and shot me!?

"Now." I felt his normal hand against my back as he gave me a hard shove towards the fiend. As I ran at it I heard gunshots behind me I watched as the bullets flew past me, missing me by just inches. Once I approached the fiend I noticed all of the bullets were just bouncing off of its tough gel that made up its body. I gasped as the fiend turned to me and opened its mouth wide. I expected it to eat me alive right there, but instead I was hit with a power water spell and sent flying back into the sand.

"Get up!" I heard Vincent yell. I couldn't move… I couldn't even breathe. I looked down to see the fiend progressing towards me. It opened its mouth again to start another water spell. I looked up to see a plane flying directly towards me. I screamed thinking I was going to be crushed by a plane and another water spell all at once.

"Take that!" I heard Yuffie's voice and saw her Conformer spinning past me. It bounced off of the fiend just like Vincent's bullets had. "Huh?" Yuffie cocked her head to the side and looked at the fiend who was now preparing to hit her with an attack. The plane landed and I watched as Cid, Barrett, and Tifa jumped out of it and prepared to fight.

"Vincent! Don't just stand there help her!" Tifa yelled pointing to me. I was still lying helplessly on the sand, soaking wet. The power of the water spell knocked the wind out of me and I was just now able to breathe normally again. Vincent ran towards me and tried to pick me up, but I pushed his hands away and stood on my own. Had the crew not shown up just now I would have died under his supervision. Some trainer he was.

"Damn, what the hell is this piece of shit?!" Cid yelled after trying to stab it with his spear. The jar I was holding was knocked out of my hands when I was attacked. I looked down to see the waves had washed it up onto the sand by my feet. The lid was floating by as well. I picked up the jar and walked into the water to grab the lid.

"Stand back! Let me put my materia to work! If it wants to hit us with water…I'll hit it with… Lightening!" she yelled using a powerful lighting attack. It worked! I ran to the dying fiend and successfully trapped one of rainbow tailed lights.

"That's a pyrefly." Yuna was the last one to step off the ship. She walked towards me and looked into the jar. "They are bundles of life energy from the dead. Without the farplane to return to…I'm afraid the more fiends you kill here, the more pyreflies they're will be. When pyreflies cluster together…that's what creates a fiend. If you kill too many and release too many into the world with no place for them to go, they may cluster together to form a huge powerful fiend."

Vincent walked up to us and took the jar from me and looked into it. "So…what you are saying is…no matter what…there will always be fiends."

Yuna nodded. "Yes most fiends like the Flan you just encountered will remain docile if you do not approach them. I think for now, it would be better to leave these types alone."

"If fiends keep pouring into our world and we cannot kill any of them..." Vincent trailed off looking out into the distance. He never bothered to finish his sentence and nobody else added to it. I began to wonder myself what would happen to this planet.

"Well…in Spira, we have places like the Moonflow where pyreflies gather…but fiends are never created. Pyreflies are hard to predict… They can also cluster together to form illusions or memories of the dead." Vincent turned to her, curiosity evident in his normally impassive crimson eyes.

"How is that possible?" I watched as he eyed her intently as she thought for a second.

"I don't…know. Like I said, they are quite unpredictable. This is a total different planet, pyreflies might act differently here… but I still think it would be better to try and keep their numbers low. Vincent… you always seem interested when I speak of the dead. Is there someone…."

"No." he snapped harshly. He then turned to me. "Let's go." He placed the jar with the pyrefly back in my arms and stormed off toward his vehicle with me following behind him. I stopped suddenly as I remembered something.

"Oh, Yuna! A girl named Rikku is at Tifa's now. She was looking for you." I had no time to say anything more as I turned and ran towards Vincent's car. He had already started it and looked as if he was going to take off without me. In fact, as soon as I jumped into the car he took off throwing sand behind us. By the way he was acting I could tell he lied to Yuna. There was someone important to him that had died.


	5. Exposed

**Trained By the Trainee**

**Exposed**

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

After hearing that Rikku was here I hurried back on the plane and politely rushed the Cid, the pilot along. He responded with a few curse words but did proceed to hurry back to Midgar. I jumped off the plane and ran to Tifa's bar.

"Rikku!" I called as I swung open the door. She came around the corner from the bar area wearing a pair of hot pink shorts and a light pink tank top.

"Yunie!" She ran at me and embraced me tightly.

"Rikku…why did you come?" I released her and looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"C'mon, Yunie. Did you really expect me not to? Oh!" she ran off to the staircase. Yuffie walked up behind me pointing in Rikku's direction.

"Heeeey…those are _my_ pajamas! Who is she!?" She crossed her arms and sent an unfriendly look in the space Rikku once stood in.

"That's my cousin Rikku." Before I could say anything more about her, she came running back down the stairs with a commsphere in her hands.

"Let's see if this baby works!" she turned it on and we waited quite a while for the thing to respond. Yuffie hovered over it as well. Tifa even walked over and looked at it curiously.

"What's that?" Tifa asked pointing to the sphere.

"It's a commsphere." I explained. "If it works properly we should be able to connect with our friends back in Spira and let them know we are ok." Suddenly it responded and I heard Shinra's voice.

"Hey…hey…I think its working." I heard him say. And then finally I saw his and Brother's faces as they hovered over their commsphere.

"Yuna!! You're alright!!" Suddenly Brother disappeared from view, knowing him he was probably throwing himself around in fits of happiness. Rikku brought a hand to her brow as she shook her head.

"What about your sister, you imbecile!" She yelled into the commsphere. Suddenly Paine appeared.

"So you've made it. What's it like there?" she asked in her cool monotone.

"Hey!" Yuffie turned to Tifa and whispered. "It's a female version of Vinnie." Tifa laughed softly and they all continued to watch as Rikku and I caught up with our friends back home.

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

I arrived at the PPRO headquarters soaking wet and completely miserable. My chest still ached from the attack earlier and my tail bone hurt pretty bad as well from landing squarely on it in the sand. Vincent, as usual, paid no mind to my obvious discomfort and led me to the research department. Vincent stopped at the door and handed me the jar with the pyrefly in it.

"Give this to Shalua. If she's not there, make sure whoever you give it to knows to give it to her." He turned started to walk away. "Meet me in my office afterwards." I stared at his back as he walked away. I tilted my head to the side as I thought for a moment. Why couldn't he just walk in there and handed to whoever himself? I shook my head. Its official I would never understand anything this man did. I opened the door and entered the unfamiliar part of the building. It was filled with huge tanks, some of them held entire fiends, some of them merely held a tail or an arm of a fiend. There were many men and women walking around busily in white coats. Almost everything was white in this section. The floors and walls were white, the tables were white. The lighting was even extremely bright. The green liquid that filled the tanks stuck out quite a bit. After roaming around the place for a little while with no sight of Shalua, I walked up to a man who looked as if he was in charge of things. I informed him of what knowledge I had learned about the pyrefly in the charge and let him know to show it to Shalua. I left the research department and set off towards the second floor. I took the stairs rather than the elevator. It was around four in the afternoon which was a pretty busy time around here. I doubted anyone wanted to be crowded in a small space with a soaking wet drowned rat. When I got to Vincent's office I saw he was already standing outside leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and head down. I thought of what Yuna had asked him earlier. It had to be true. Someone dear to him had died and left him in this state of eternal brooding. I began to wonder what this person was like… While I stood there lost in my assumptions about this man's past, I failed to notice he had snapped out of his daze and was standing in front of me with his hand out, my share of the gil in his palm. It consisted of one 500gil coin and two smaller 100 gil coins. I took the money from his hand; my fingers brushed the leather of his glove as I did so.

"A slight improvement." He muttered. I glanced up and met his eyes. He kept contact with me for only a second before looking past me. "Tomorrow, I will pick you up on my way here. Be ready."

I nodded. "I…I will." I stood in his presence for a few seconds more before bowing my head slightly and turning to leave. As I walked down the hall I felt as if I were being watched. The feeling didn't leave me until I had turned the corner and proceeded down the stairs.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

Finally the long night had ended and it was morning again. I rose from the chair I was seated in for the past nine hours while the rest of the planet was sleeping. How they all take such an activity for granted… I slipped into my bathroom and out of my daily clothing, wrapping a dark blue towel around my waist. It was still five in the morning so I couldn't find a reason not to relax in the bath rather than to take a quick shower. While waiting for the bath to fill I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. Permanent dark circles surrounded my eyes; I shut them tightly for a brief moment. That short moment was enough time for a dark memory to cross my mind. I opened my eyes again and clung to the sink as I felt my strength being drained from my body. Chaos leaving…was supposed to make things better. I sat on the side of the tub and rested my face in my hands. I've only gotten worse…

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

I sat in the living room with Yuffie and Rikku as they looked at Rikku's pictures that she brought with her from Spira. I was completely ready and waiting on Vincent to pick me up. It was already five minutes past seven and he hadn't called or shown up. I remember _clearly_ he said he would pick me up on his way to work.

"Oooo who's this cutie!?" Yuffie asked pointing to a blonde guy in a grey and pink outfit. He wore a black eye patch over one eye. Yuffie and Rikku hit it off well. They were so much alike… I felt a little left out as I am so much different. I am not as outgoing, or as energetic as these girls. I also keep what's on my mind, in my mind rather than share it as freely as they do.

"That's Gippal. I'm not quite sure what we are…but…I think I kinda like the guy." Rikku admitted looking down at her pink toenails.

Yuna then appeared in the room. "I knew it!" She pointed at Rikku.

Rikku gasped and stood from the couch. "You better not say anything ,Yunie!"

Yuna smiled as she took the commsphere out from behind her back and pretended to turn it on. Rikku charged at her and snatched the device away. I smiled and laughed softly watching the two. Yuffie sneaked up behind them and snatched the commsphere away and really did turn it on. Before it responded we all turned to the entrance area as we heard a knock at the door.

"Oh…that's probably Vincent." I stood up and grabbed my back. I made sure my belt was attached properly and walked to the door. I pulled it open to reveal Vincent standing there dressed as he normally was. Today, however his hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and looked damp. He still wore his dark red bandana as usual.

I wore black shorts that reached just above my knees and two tank tops, a white one with a black one visibly underneath. My hair was parted down the middle and was braided into two long braids. I was aware this hairstyle was childish, but I liked it. Vincent looked at me briefly before looking past me at Cloud who stood looking dumbfounded standing in the living room seeming to be on his way out as well.

"Uh…hi Vincent." He said scratching his spikey blonde head and chuckling awkwardly. Vincent responded with a nod and looked back down at me.

"Ready?"

"Yes." I nodded and looked up at him confidently. He took one more look at Cloud before turning around and heading towards his vehicle with me following. The ride to the headquarters was uncomfortably silent. I kept glancing at him, but looked away just as often afraid he'd catch me staring at him. Something was bothering him this morning… I sense his uneasiness…

The silence once we reached his office was even more uncomfortable. So was the file cabinet I sat on. I wanted to ask what there was to do here. This job seemed mainly about killing fiends. Why did he need an office?

It took nerve but I asked. "What's this office for?"

"Keeping records…" He muttered softly. I wanted to asked more but I didn't. I decided to form an answer for myself. The money must have to be kept track of as well as the time we spent here. I noticed there were a lot of maps and atlases around. I noticed one map on the wall had dots all over it. Some areas had more dots than others. I assumed this was where the fiends were being spotted at. This information could be useful in finding the exact location of the portal between here and Spira. I glanced down at his desk and spotted a few order forms for what I assumed were gun accessories. I jumped as his phone rang loudly. He sighed and picked it up.

"Hello?" He looked over at me.

"Yes, she is." I assumed it was Shalua and that she had asked about me.

"Hm." He listened intently for a while and grabbed a piece of paper to write down some information. "Ok, we'll leave at once." He stood up and walked past me on the file cabinet. I followed him. I wished he would at least inform me of where we were going. We got back in his car again and began driving in a different direction. The sky had gotten cloudy in the time we spend inside. Vincent pressed a button on the side of his door and two walls shot up out of the sides of the vehicle. They curved and met at the top, enclosing us in the vehicle.

"Where are we going?" I looked over at him.

"The mountains…" He answered. He sighed and leaned back against the seat. I sighed realizing I would just have to wait until we arrived to find out what's really going on.

After driving for a half hour, I realized that he hadn't lied. We _were _in the mountains. Vincent drove his car as far as he could before it was no longer possible to drive. The walls of the car lowered so we could get out and then once we were out Vincent pressed a button on the keys that caused them to rise again. I followed him on the extremely rocky path. I stepped down on a rock that was as big as my foot and it moved causing me to lose balance. As a reflex, I reached out and grabbed a handful of Vincent's cloak. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have the best balance at the time either as he flung his arm out trying to regain it. He turned and sent me a glare.

"Sorry…" I bowed my head and quickly let go of his cloak. He continued on and I followed a bit far behind as I was trying hard not to fall on all of the rocks as we walked up the hill. Finally we made it to a dirt trail that went between two mountains. I picked up my pace until I was walking side by side with him. Once we passed the two mountains there was a cave. Vincent stopped and looked around through narrowed eyes.

I shuddered at the thought of what could possibly be in the cave.

"The cave is not our prime destination." He finally began to explain our purpose here. "We're looking for a cottage up here. A man there claims to have a ghostlike fiend in his cellar." He took a few steps towards the opening of the cave. Suddenly a pack of wolf like creatures with long tongues jumped out to attack him. He threw his claw out knocking two of them back into the entrance. He then whipped out his gun and began shooting. I pulled my gun out as well but didn't want to shoot. I was just sure I'd hit Vincent instead of the fiends. He seemed to have control over the situation anyways as he disposed of each of them. I sighed with relief that he was unharmed. Then… it happened… one of the fiends Vincent had simply knocked to the ground, jumped up and ran at me faster than I could even react.

"Shoot!" Vincent yelled pointing his gun in my direction. I was so frozen by fear that I couldn't move. Plus the fiend had come at me so fast. Vincent only stood there and watched as the fiend jumped at me, clawing my arm in the process. An ear shattering scream left my lips as the fiend landed on top of me. Its long tongue hanging in my face as it prepared to rip my face off.

"Shoot the gun!" I heard a voice yell. I finally regained control over my body and shoved the tip of the gun in its mouth before it could bite me. I pulled the trigger and was then immersed in a cloud of pyreflies. I looked down at the blood on the ground that had flowed out of the three deep gashes in my arm. I wanted to cry so badly, but I didn't want to do it in front of Vincent.

"Can you continue on?" His voice was still in that monotone. He showed no sympathy to my current state. He didn't even take one step towards me in effort to help me. Did he not see the blood flowing out of my arm!? I'm going to bleed to death! Nevertheless, I stood with my hand over the three gashes and nodded. He turned his back on me and continued passed the cave. The pain in my heart after realizing this man truly did not care about me was worse than the pain in my arm. I continued to follow him, but the further we walked, the weaker I felt. Then suddenly everything went black.

**∞Tifa's POV∞**

After speaking with the doctor in the infirmary where Xila was being treated, I marched my way to the second floor and banged on the door of Vincent's office. I didn't even wait for him to say come in before I kicked open the door and stormed in there.

"Vincent!"

"Tifa…" He was typing something into his computer.

"What's wrong with you?! Did you not realize Xila was hurt!?" I crossed my arms and glared at him. If he didn't take his eyes off that computer in a minute I was going to kick it off the desk into his lap.

"I asked her if she could carry on, and her reply was yes." He said calmly looking up at me and scooting away from his computer.

I sighed loudly. "Have you been training her properly at all?" Vincent leaned back in his computer chair looking up at me.

"You have no business lecturing me on my duties as if you are performing your job perfectly." My jaw dropped and I was ready to punch him into the air and then drop kick him. I glared at him for a while. He has changed so much over the past year… He wasn't ever the friendliest person in the world, but he was never this sour. "What are you talking about?!" I spat at him.

"Cloud is living with you and you know that is against PPRO's policies." His words stunned me. How did he know!? There was silence in the office for a while.

I then lifted my head triumphantly as I thought of something witty to say before storming out of his office. "The policy states we are not to have _intimate relations _with other members, it says nothing about living together." I slammed his door as I left his office. I then turned back and opened the door again. "I'm bringing Xila home now and don't expect her to be at work tomorrow. If I were you I'd stop by and apologize for being such a heartless prick!" I slammed the door harder than the first time and stomped down the hall.


	6. Reasons Why

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Reasons Why**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

Heartless… I looked down at my desk the loud slam of the door still vibrating in my ears. Is that what I've become? I stood slowly and looked down at my watch. There was still much of the day left. I couldn't spend the day letting my thoughts catch up to me so I left to finished the mission that was still at hand. As I walked through the entrance area, I received many unfriendly glances and accusative mutterings. News travels fast it seems… The look I received from Shalua was enough to top everything.

"Valentine, in my office." When I didn't move towards her she took it upon herself to move towards me, grabbing the high collar of my cloak. "Now." Her dangerously low voice was enough to make a grown man crawl to the door. However, I didn't let it affect me. I glared down at her just as hard as she glared up at me. She turned sharply and headed towards her large office that was located on the first floor. I followed her in there and calmly took a seat in the chair that was placed across from her chair at her desk.

"Do you know the penalties for letting a trainee _die_ in a mission?" I lowered my head and looked at the tiles on the floors. I remained unresponsive. No…I didn't know the penalties nor did I care… However I did not know how I would fill my time without this job.

"Reeve entrusted you with this task because he knew you could protect her!" Shalua was never one to raise her voice. Why she was yelling at me over a young unskilled girl that would only be dead weight to this organization.

"What's the point of training her… she won't amount to anything. Send her back to Wutai. This isn't the place for her." I kept my eyes to the floor.

Shalua sighed loudly. "You obviously have made no efforts to get to know her… Xilamani's mother is dying from an unknown disease that no doctor has been able to diagnose. In order to pay for further examinations, she is here. Reeve, being a close friend to her parents, offered her the job."

I looked up at Shalua. The shock must have been evident in my eyes as she gave a cocky smile at my reaction. No wonder Tifa was so angry with me…

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I spent the evening at home helping Tifa with her bar. It was quite busy tonight. Even Yuffie and Rikku were put to work. Yuna had been summoned to the headquarters by Shalua to talk more about the pyreflies. After eating a full mean and resting a while, I recovered from the loss of blood. The wound itself was completely healed due to the powerful restore materia the nurses in the infirmary used. Tifa announced that she was going to close the bar down for the night so Rikku, Yuffie and I began cleaning up. Yuffie swept the floor, using the broom as a microphone half of the time as there was still music playing. Rikku was washing dishes, and I was wiping down the long table.

"Bar's closed Vinny, get out! You got alota nerve comin up here after what you did to Xila!" I heard Yuffie yell. I froze mid wipe. There's no way I could face him now. Not only did I show a pathetic performance in our mission today, but I've gotten him into trouble. As if he already didn't find me troublesome.

I heard heavy, metal footsteps come closer to me. My hair was still in the two braids. How I wished it was down now so I could hide behind it.

"Heeey! Its you! The guy that left me out in the rain the other night!" Rikku who stood on the other side of the bar directly in front of me pointed and glared at the man standing behind me. I instantly became aware of just how close he had gotten when I heard him sigh. Unsure of what to do, first I took my hand off the wet rag and wiped it dry on my shirt with quick nervous swipes. Before I could even lift my foot to walk away I felt a leather clad hand clamp down on my shoulder with a tight grip. Oh no…

Then, it was his left hand which I was still unsure whether he had a real hand under the claw or not, that clamped down on my other shoulder. In one swift movement he spun me around to face him. I expected those crimson eyes to be piercing down into me painfully, but instead what I could see if his face expressed a bit of guilt. Just a bit…

"Do you have a moment? I'd like to speak with you…alone." He glanced up at Rikku then over at Yuffie.

"Hmph!" Yuffie threw down the broom she was holding and stormed off.

"Hmph!" Rikku threw the dish rag in the sink and followed suit. It was then I saw amusement cross those dark features. I held back the urge to laugh myself. The two were quite the comical pair these days. But of course, once they were both out of sight, I realized I would have to face Vincent alone.

The first thing he did was hand me two 500 gil coins. "Today's share."

"But…we didn't…" I kept my hand out ready to give him back the money, but he waved it off.

"I finished the mission alone, but you deserve your share." He took a seat on one of the high bar stools. Being as tall as he was, he didn't need to jump up like I did as I took a seat also. We both stared down at the freshly cleaned table for a while.

He finally spoke again. "Shalua told me the real reason why you are here. To pay for your mother's medical assistance…"

I looked over at him to see him looking back at me. I grabbed one of my braids and played with it. When I'm nervous, I always feel the need to do something with my hands. "Oh… yes…that's right."

"I did not know that… I had the impression you were only here for some adventure which would solely be a waste of everyone's time." The tone of his voice was much softer, and held less of the rough edge I was use to hearing from him. I glanced up at him again to see him still looking back at me.

"I've never been one interested in adventure… this was just the first thing that came up. Reeve offered the job so politely that I couldn't decline, and at the time there wasn't anything else I could do. I just…couldn't sit back and watch my mom suffer. I _had_ to do something." I held eye contact with him to show that I was serious. He took his eyes away from mind and looked away.

"That's admirable." He muttered. He lowered his head sending the tip of his nose down into his high collar. "I apologize for not taking the time to learn this about you." His voice was muffled even more so than before by his cloak. I took into consideration that these words were probably hard for him to say.

"It's ok. With the impression that you were under…I can understand the reason for your actions. In times like these there isn't really a place for unskilled people like me…" I heard a creak on the staircase and a "Shhh!"

Vincent evidently heard it too as his eyes moved in that direction. "Hmm…well…tomorrow we won't go on any missions, but will try harder to improve your combat abilities." He stood from the bar stool and walked out of the bar area. I followed him and we both heard people scrambling up the stairs.

"Goodbye Yuffie and…"

"Rikku." I whispered to him.

"Rikku." He repeated looking over his shoulder at the staircase. He then looked down at me.

"Tomorrow then."

I nodded. "Goodnight Vincent. Thanks for…understanding…"

He left without another word. I smiled at the front door he left through. So maybe he did care… I spun around still with a grin on my face only to drop it quickly when I realized again that I wasn't in the room alone.

"Awww!!! Xila!! You're crushing on Vinny!!" Yuffie screamed at the top of her lungs. She and Rikku began to do a little dance while singing. "Xila's crushing on Vinny, Xila's crushing on Vinny."

"I am not!" I tried to pass the two to get to the staircase but they trapped me and continued to taunt me. I dropped to the floor and put my face in my hands trying to block out their taunting.

**∞Tifa's POV∞**

Cloud and I snuck away to the garage after I closed the bar down. I knew leaving the girls to clean was probably not very polite, but hey they live there now too.

"Cloud…" I whispered breaking our long kiss. I saw lights coming down the street. "Someone's coming…"

Cloud pushed himself away from me so fast, I almost fell off the broken bar stool I was sitting on. We hadn't lived here for 8 complete months yet and I've already got this garaged trashed with junk I don't use. Cloud's bike was already pulled in here so there was no way this person was going to get theirs in here as well. Cloud and I ducked down quickly as the black car pulled up close to the back of Cloud's bike. I put my hand on top of Cloud's head to keep the spikes low as well.

"It's Vincent…" Cloud whispered.

"Damnit!" I whispered loudly. "Stay low, he _cannot_ see us. I just told him today nothing was going on."

"I'm sure he didn't miss the bike, Tifa." Cloud was not the best whisperer. I put my finger to his lips and got down lower. I heard his foot steps on our porch and the door open. As soon as we both heard the door shut, Cloud and I gave a relieved sigh.

"I know he saw the bike! But if he saw us in here… like this…" I pointed to my open shirt and rubbed the lip gloss off his lips. "He threw it in my face about you living here when I yelled at him about how he's treating Xila. But I told him that nothing was going on… so if he saw this, I'd look like a big liar." I stood up and fixed my shirt and ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times. It was late and Vincent was never one to hang around in someone's company for too long so Cloud and I remained hidden, sure that he would make a quick return.

"What is he doing?" Cloud groaned as he tried to stretch out his back. I'm sure the crotched, hunched over position he was in couldn't have been comfortable.

"I hope he's in there apologizing to Xila. He's being such a jerk!" I squatted back down next to Cloud. Finally after what seemed like fifteen minutes, Vincent walked back outside and jumped back into his car. Once he was out of sight Cloud and I went back inside.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I hoped I wouldn't blow the chance Vincent was giving me today to learn better combat skills. Yuffie and Rikku wouldn't give their gossip circus a rest until nearly two in the morning. After they finally let me off the hook and at least pretended to believe me when I said I wasn't crushing on him, they started on Cloud and Tifa. It should have been obvious to me, but I was still shocked to hear they were involved in a secret relationship against the rules of PPRO. I always saw the both of them as bigger professionals than that...

Although I was still dead tired, I dressed myself in a pair of khaki shorts and the mid sleeved violet shirt I wore on my first day at PPRO. I quickly scolded myself for considering taking some of the gil I'd earned and buying more clothes with it.

I brushed my long hair back into a high ponytail and hurried downstairs to eat a quick breakfast. It was already seven thirty and I was sure Vincent would be here any minute. He surprised me once again as I saw him already seated at the bar eating a bit of breakfast himself.

"Tifa made breakfast." He said. I could tell someone made something from the wonderful aroma that filled the room.

"Oh." I said as I began fixing a plate for myself. I sat one seat away from him as we both ate quietly. As soon as we finished we were off to the headquarters once again. Vincent informed me that he had already spoken to Shalua about taking the day off from missions in order to help me get a little bit better with handling a weapon. After a quick visit to the gun room, Vincent took me into a room with a huge screen for a wall. He handed me a different gun. I immediately noticed it was nothing but plastic. I looked up to give him a confused look.

He pointed to the screen that suddenly turned into a field. It was so real looking. I felt as if I could step into the grass. A wolf like creature much like the one that had attacked me the other day jumped out at me. I lifted the plastic gun and shot at it. A blast that sounded like a real gun filled the room. The gun even jerked back much like a real one.

"You want to hit it where you'll instantly kill it." Vincent pushed a button on the remote he held and the screen seemed to pause. I watched as he pointed out what he called the 'hot spots' when killing a fiend. I listened intently and tried to put what he told me to good use. Vincent stood and watched while continuing to give constructive criticism. I tried to stay focused but I just really wanted to throw my arms around him and thank him for giving me a chance. In the middle of another one of his very helpful explanations, his phone rang.

"Hello…"

"Shalua…I'm busy…"

I smiled Vincent wasn't a bad guy after all. He's just as amazing as I thought.

"…wh..what?"

I stopped smiling and turned to face him. His eyebrows were furrowed in a look of deep concern.

"Ok…We're on it." He hung up the phone and pointed the remote at the screen turning it off. "We've got a plane to catch." He said walking past me to the door. I simply set the plastic gun down on the ground and jogged after him.

Wait… a plane to catch?!


	7. Rendezvous in Costa del Sol

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Rendezvous in Costa del Sol**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

I stood a short distance from Cid as he piloted the Shera. Yuffie and my trainee were busy looking out the large windows at the water we were passing over. As Cid made a rough turn, Yuffie went scrambling towards the nearest waste bin. My gaze shifted back to her cousin. She stared out of the window at the land we were approaching as if she were about to embark on a new planet.

Heavy footsteps alarmed me that Barret was approaching so I quickly averted my gaze to a random spot on the floor. "The hell you broodin about, Vince?" He asked with a nudge from his gun arm. I shook my head. I wasn't aware that I had been brooding about anything. I kept the dark thoughts from my mind by focusing on the missions at hand. A small deserted island outside of Costa Del Sol was completely destroyed earlier by an unknown fiend in the water. A pilot said it was a huge fiend, larger than any he'd seen before. The Spira residents, Yuna and Rikku concluded it was probably Sin. With what they had to say about this…Sin, we couldn't take the situation lightly. More than two hundred PPRO members were on their way to protect Costa Del Sol.

"Always gotta be a damn mystery…" Barret, after tiring of my unresponsiveness, walked past me and closer to Cid.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I always heard of Costa Del Sol as a care free place with hula dancers, and tiki bars. The place I stepped off of Cid's plane and saw was completely different. Almost the entire coastline covered by PPRO members and their weapons. All the carefree residents were huddled in groups all with worried expressions upon their tanned faces. Seeing all of their dark tans made me feel like I could use a couple of weeks here. On Cid's plane, Yuffie made a couple of comments about Vincent being so pale… I wasn't far from it. I followed the group of people that I had arrived to a small shop.

"Give me your bag." Vincent, who seemed to come out of nowhere, demanded. I did so and he stood in line to buy first aid equipment. I stood off to the side and looked out at another plane that was landing. Yuna jumped out before it had even touched the ground. She landed in knee deep water near the shore and ran towards the line of PPRO soldiers with their cannons, gun, swords, and explosives ready.

"You must stop! If Sin comes, you all will die!" She yelled. Reno was the pilot of their small plane. Rikku, Tifa, Cloud, and Rude were the only other passengers that arrived with him. Rikku ran to Yuna's side.

"Yunie's right!"

"Don't worry, this is Shinra's finest technology. No fiend can stand up to any of these weapons." One of the men in charge said barely acknowledging her.

"You don't understand…!"

The man ignored her and began yelling out orders to the other PPRO soldiers near him. I watched as she darted around the coastline approaching soldiers. None of them seemed to take her seriously. I jumped slightly as I felt something touch my arm. Vincent nudged me with the bag he filled to the brim with first aid equipment.

"Oh…" I said taking the bag from his sharp gold digits. He began to watch Yuna too as she desperately pleaded to whomever would give her a second of their time. When she gave up trying to put an end to the battle preparations she walked away towards us.

"What is it?" Vincent asked as she began to pass us by. She turned sharply to him the expression on her face showed her gratefulness for finding someone who would listen. She took a deep breath beginning her story.

"In Spira a few years ago…before my guardians and I defeated Sin, an organization called the Crusaders who are much like you PPRO members, established what they called the Operation Mihen. Long story short, no matter how strong their thought their machine were, Sin destroyed almost every one of them." Yuna stopped and looked down as if reflecting on this tragic memory. I looked up at Vincent as he spoke.

"If they do not wish to listen…let them see for themselves…Come on." He sent me a short glance out of the corner of his eye. I followed him as did Yuna, towards Cloud.

Yuna began to explain what had happened in Spira again to Cloud. Tifa also listened as she stood by. Cloud seemed to take Yuna a little more seriously than the other PPRO soldiers, but still replied. "I don't know about the weapons in Spira, but I do know a lot about Shinra's technology. This…Sin shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for worrying for us. I appreciate your concern, but I think we can handle this." Cloud tried to turn away but Yuna gripped his shoulder.

"Cloud…"she looked around at the rest of the group that began to gather. Cid, Yuffie, Rikku, Barret, Nanaki, even Shalua appeared. "You all…please listen. Sin is not _just_ a fiend. There's a person inside it. Sin cannot exist alone, but must be joined with a human. This connection provides an incredible power…one that…"

Everyone got quiet as we felt the ground shake.

"Please…don't try to fight it…I may not have known you all for long, but I consider you my friends." Yuna looked at us all desperately. I looked past her at Vincent who was staring down at her. He believed her and he trusted what she said. He then turned sharply toward the coast. A wave washed up at least fifteen large objects that seemed to be rocks.

"Sinspawn!!" Rikku yelled. Just as she did, the rocks burst open to reveal huge plant like creatures with long tentacles. They began striking at soldiers with their tentacles. The PPRO soldiers quickly reacted with shooting their guns, cannons, and throwing grenades. I covered my ears at the loud explosions. Our group we were huddled up in dispersed and I was once again desperately trying to keep up with Vincent. He turned away from the coast and began walking further into the town, I followed him.

"Aren't you going to help?" I asked once we stopped and sat at a picnic table that was under a tall red and white umbrella. I was actually thankful to get out of the hot sun.

"You stay here and watch our supplies. If Sin is really capable of what Yuna speaks, you can't afford to be near the coast." He left me there at the picnic table and returned to the coast. I sighed loudly and rested my head on the table. The sounds of gunshots, explosions, and cannons being shot were the only sounds to be heard. Long miserable hot hours passed by and I still sat at the picnic table alone.

**∞****Vincent****'s POV∞**

I sat high above everyone else on the roof of a nearby building. None of these fiends could be taken down with a single shot, but I made sure the hits I did make were critical. As soon as everyone believed we had won the battle, more of them appeared on the shore. I was beginning to think this would never end. I focused on my next target and was just about to pull the trigger when I heard a shrill pitched scream. It almost sounded familiar as if I'd heard that same scream somewhere before.

"Vincent! Where's Xila!?" I looked down from the roof to see Yuffie standing on the ground below me. I jumped down from the roof and landed next to her.

I did not answer but ran into the town where I left the girl. Surely she would use the first aid items if she was hurt. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me into the town. It suddenly became harder to distinguish which direction the screams were coming from as many people began to scream and run out of the town. A huge insect fiend that looked as if it were half centipede was also marching through the small coastal town.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I awoke in a dark green tent. Judging from the dim lighting, I assumed it was already late evening. Before I could completely come to, Yuffie ripped back the door of the tent and got in.

"You ok? You were attacked by a Sinspawn that invaded the town earlier. But we got everything under control now." She spoke in her peppy voice with a grin on her face. "And everyone's still alive. Guess Sin's not attacking today." She sat down on the empty sleeping bag next to mine. "Whew! I'm just gonna chill for the rest of the evening."

"Who saved me?" I asked Yuffie. She smiled.

"Who do you think? Hehehe. He totally took out running when I said you were in trouble. Hmm… I wonder if he's crushing on you like you are on him!" She laughed loudly at my horrified expression. Yuffie really was so loud…

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

I spotted Vincent Valentine, the only man today to take me seriously seated on a rock near the shore where there weren't any soldiers or weapons. As unapproachable as he seemed at the moment, I chose to go ahead and try.

"Thank you." Was the first thing I said to him as I stood within a couple of feet of the rock he sat on.

He shook his head, but said nothing. His crimson eyes that put me in mind of Paine were focused out on the water.

"Is there a way to get to Spira from here?" His question came as a sort of a surprise. I expected his next comment to be for me to leave him be.

"I don't know…Since the portal here is in the sky somewhere, you would have to fly a plane through it. But the hole in Spira is much smaller than a plane so…"

"I see." He sighed and seemed to let go of all the tension around him.

"You want to see if she's there." His head turned sharply towards me and I could only smile. His situation was quite obvious so it shouldn't be _that _much of a surprise that I predicted it.

"You know…I lost someone too. He didn't die, but just disappeared. There's an actual story behind it, but it's so long and I'm sure you don't care to hear it, but anyway… The real reason I came to your planet because I believed I could find _him_ here. I was standing over the portal one day and I could have sworn I heard him whistling for me. I know it was him." I looked out at the water as I felt Vincent's gaze tear into me. We were both silent for a while.

"Lucrecia is only a memory now…but if I could just see her face one more time…her smiling face…" I looked at him with a warm smile. His expression was unchanging and his voice remained monotone.

"I can't accept the fact that Tidus may only be a memory. I just can't…" I felt the tears building up, but I quickly shook them away and smiled again. "Once you've accepted the death of a loved one… is it easy to move on?" I asked him.

He looked down at his gold boots. "No…it's not…but my situation is much different. I do not expect anyone to…accept someone like me into their lives. After the adjustments Hojo made to my body…I'm barely human."

"Hmm…I know someone who has a crush on you." Vincent looked up at me, his dark eyes shining with a glimmer of hope in them. Ah ha! He does want love. Well…really…who doesn't… "Can't tell you though…I made a promise." I winked at him and skipped off without another word. I figured I'd just let him sit there thinking of all the women on his team that could possibly have a crush on him. It probably wouldn't matter as Rikku and I are the only ones he could get involved with without breaking the rules of his organization. However it was neither me nor Rikku that had the crush. Rikku blabbed to me that Xilamani, his trainee did.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

Days passed and no sign of any…Sin. I kept my distance from the group for the past three days. I even neglected my trainee. My thoughts were catching up to me again after speaking with Yuna. Normally I have no problem keeping my secrets and thoughts to myself, but something about her made me spill the truth. I do wish to venture to Spira and see Lucrecia again…but just once. I've come to accept that alive or dead, she would have never been able to return the love I had for her. But to bring a bit of closure…I would like to see her face once more. I lay inside my tent alone. It was well past midnight, but there would be no sleep for me. I can't remember the last time I've laid down and slept. I'd rather live in intense fatigue than suffer through a nightmare. I heard noise outside my tent and instantly sat upright, my hand reaching for my gun.

"Vincent…?" What did she want?

"Yes." I answered lying back down and staring at the ceiling of the tent. I heard the zipper being unzipped and zipped back. Her voice was then much clearer.

"There's something in my tent."

I didn't take my eyes off the spot on the tent. "Shoot it."

"I'm scared." I finally looked down at the young woman in my tent. Her hands were trembling…in fact it almost seemed as if her whole body was shaking. I sighed loudly but didn't move.

"Will you just kill it…please? I'm so sorry for bothering you." She held her long braid in her hands and turned her face away from me. "I can't sleep."

I sighed again and sat up. "Try not sleeping for months…you'll get used to it." She looked at me, most likely surprised that I had spoken to her. For once I actually preferred company. Perhaps a night of mindless chatter would drive away all the unhappy thoughts that tend to crowd my mind. I sat up handed her a canteen filled with an energy drink. She looked at me with wide eyes before taking it.

"May I?"

"I'm handing it to you, aren't I?" I wanted to smirk at her, but the expression just wouldn't cross my face. It is like I've become so numb…

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I drank the bitter liquid from Vincent's canteen. It instantly opened my eyes. There would be no need to sleep tonight. I looked up at him again. He wasn't wearing his cloak! It was rather dark though, I could barely make out his features. When his eyes met mine I looked away. My heart was pounding in my chest. Maybe I should have just dealt with whatever's in my tent alone…

"Miss Wutai yet?" I stared at the ghostly image of him in disbelief. Was he really trying to talk to me? What is in this canteen?! Am I dreaming?

"…a little…" I took a few more sips of whatever this strange liquid was, hoping it would make me a little less uptight as well. It didn't…

"Hm." He responded. Silence took over the tent for a while. Vincent lay back down on his sleeping bag, but turned his body so that it was facing me. I felt that pretty soon I was going to crack under this heavy silence so I spoke again.

"When are we returning to Midgar?" I asked adjusting my body into a more comfortable position with my legs out to the side.

"Can't say…If this Sin doesn't attack by the end of the week, we'll probably return then." His voice was so alluring. So deep…yet so smooth… Another round of silence took over before I could think of anything else to say.

"Oh thank you for saving me earlier…" I clutched the canteen in my hand tightly. Why did this man intimidate me so?

"My responsibility." He murmured. His voice was now starting to sound tired. I heard him shifting around on his sleeping bag. He still faced me though.

"I'm sorry if me being around troubles you…" I said. He didn't respond but let out a deep sigh. I breathed a lighter sigh and looked down at my pale hands in the dark. After a few more minutes of silence I looked over at Vincent. His eyes were shut and his lips were slightly parted, making me assume he had fallen asleep. But according to everyone and even to him, he never slept! Perhaps, it was because I drank all of his energy drink. Feeling a little more comfortable now that I realized he was asleep, I scooted closer to him and stretched my legs out in front of me and leaned back with my arms out behind me. I stared down at his calm sleeping form. He slept so quietly not even his breathing could be heard. Suddenly his pale fingers clinched into a fist. I noticed his brows had also knitted themselves together in an expression of pain. I could only guess that he was having a nightmare. I remember when I was a child I was plagued by nightmares after hearing a legend of a Wutain demon. My mother would sit by my bedside and stroke my head softly. I looked stared at Vincent a moment longer watching as his body seemed to twitch with the fear his nightmare was instilling in him. I reached my hand out to his face jerking it back each time his head would twitch afraid he would wake up. Finally my fingers touched the fabric of the headband he wore. I slowly eased them into the mass of hair on his head slowly stroking his scalp with my fingers. I couldn't move my fingers very far into his hair as it was so tangled. A washing may help, I smiled at this then I noticed his breathing evening back out again and the expression on his face softened. After a while my arm got tired, because I was still seated a foot away from him. But as soon as I took my hand away he began to stir again. I slowly laid down next to him. If he wasn't sleeping this would have been extremely hard for me to do, but his sleeping form didn't intimidate me so much. It was much easier to stroke his head this way. I did so for minutes while he slept quietly. I stopped again when he began to stir. I said a silent prayer to all the Wutain Gods that he wouldn't wake up. This would be extremely awkward. Instead of waking up like I believed he was about to do, I felt his metal arm wrap around my waist and pull me closer closing the distance between us. He buried his face into my shoulder and continued to sleep soundly. My heart was beating so hard I was afraid the thumping sound would wake him. It raced harder as I felt him pulling me closer. I could not believe I was this close to this man.

I heard him mumble something in his sleep. It sounded like it ended with a '…ecia.' He repeated himself again and I caught only the first part of it. I put the two together and whispered the name aloud. "Lucrecia?" But of course… the woman he loved. I started to feel strange letting him hold me this way while dreaming about another woman. It was disheartening… However to keep him from having nightmares, I continued to stroke his hair until I could see the dim lights of dawn fill the tent.


	8. Sin

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Sin**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

Something's not right… I opened my eyes and looked around the tent. Had I really been asleep? My heightened sense of smell instantly picked up a flowery scent on my sleeping bag that couldn't have been there before. The events of last night came to me. Oh that's right… _she_ was in my tent, but I couldn't remember her coming within a foot of my sleeping bag… I sniffed it again. Yes, that was definitely her scent… I then took a whiff of my sleeve. Why was her scent on me…? I decided not to worry myself about this mystery; there were indeed bigger fish to fry at the moment. I quickly shook the…I suppose…much needed sleep off and put on my cloak. I climbed out of my tent looking around for any of my team members. Finally I heard Yuffie's loud laughter I turned my head in the direction and about thirty feet across the beach I saw her and my trainee come out of a tent.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

"Ah ha!! It's just a crab!!" Yuffie laughed loudly and carried the crab out of my tent. I followed her with a solemn look on my face. In the dark, I swear it looked much more threatening. Yuffie looked away, squinting into the sunlight. "Oh look here comes your trainer!" she turned to me with a naughty grin.

"Yuffie…" I gave her one of my meanest looks which I'm sure wasn't very fierce. She merely smirked at it but nonetheless wiped off her grin as Vincent got closer. He looked so out of place walking across the sunny beach towards us. Something about this man and a beach just didn't go together at all…

"Where are Cloud and the others?" He asked Yuffie, not even acknowledging me. I didn't mind it, though. At least things didn't have to get awkward this morning. I successfully snuck out of his tent at five this morning and into Yuffie's. She was the one who woke up with me as a surprise visitor in her tent and believed me when I said I had been there all night because of something in my tent.

"I dunno. Nobody ever knows where Cloud and Tifa are. Cid's on his airship, though. No wonder he named it Shera, he really _is_ in love with that thing. Barret's probably sittin in his tent talking to Marlene on the phone. The aliens are on the coast still tryin to negotiate with the captains, but last I checked nobody was backin down. Guess if they're right about Sin, PPRO is gonna lose _alota_ employees." Yuffie bounced and swayed as she spoke. She could never stand completely still. This seemed to annoy Vincent as he had to keep looking away.

"What about Shalua?" He turned to Yuffie and looked down at her. He had still yet to even take a glance at me.

"I think she went back to Midgar. Pretty sure she spoke to Yuna and as soon as she heard that Sin might destroy us all, she jetted back to safety. Hmm…ya think we should do the same? I mean, Xila and I got big responsibilities back in Wutai." Although Yuffie inserted me into the conversation, he didn't look at me as he responded.

"I need to speak with Cloud. Maybe it is best we send half of the team back to Midgar…just incase." He walked past Yuffie and I to a cluster of tents further down.

**∞Cloud's POV∞**

"You better go back to your tent before we get caught." I said to a mass of brown hair next to me. Tifa moaned and slowly turned to face me. She looked gorgeous even first thing in the morning. This was one of the few things that could make me smile…and I did.

"Are we going back today? I honestly just want to get out of here or at least have a better plan than sitting on our asses waiting for some Sin to come kill us all."

"It's _not_ going to kill us? You don't care about Costa Del Sol? It's usually me that's so noncaring." I stretched my arms out above me and let out a yawn. "I've never lost a battle, and I'm not starting with this."

Tifa and I both sat up straight with wide eyes upon hearing footsteps outside. I prayed it was just Barret going back to his tent, or leaving it. But we both saw that unmistakable shadow…

"Vincent don't come in I'm not dressed!!" Tifa yelled suddenly. This much was true. She quickly unzipped her bag and threw on her black zip up tank top and black shorts that reached her knees. I laid under the sleeping bag I was covered with in just my dark green boxers.

"Tifa…Cloud's in there. I need to speak with him." Tifa glared at his shadow then looked back at me as if I was going to have some idea how to get us out of this.

"Uh…" she gave up on trying to find an excuse and unzipped the door to our tent. "If you say a word to Shalua or by any chance to Reeve, I will kick… your… ass." I was a little more shocked than Vincent appeared to be. He only looked back at her with that cold look of his. He's told us many times that this cold face of his was just how he was; he didn't do it intentionally to come off rude or anything. He leaned over and walked into our tent.

"Cloud…do you really plan on fighting?" was the first thing he asked me. I pushed away the sleeping bag and Vincent turned his head as I got dressed.

"What else can we do? Flee and let Sin destroy the town?" I asked once I pulled my black shirt over my head.

"We move everyone out of the area to somewhere safe. It's just a town…it can be rebuilt. People cannot." He stung me with that one… I scratched the back of my head and sighed. I really didn't know what to do.

"You know, we aren't going to be able to move the soldiers from the coast. They are set on defeating this fiend before it has the chance to terrorize other areas." This caused a sigh from the cold man in the tent with me.

"Let them die, but get the people who want to live out of here." With that he left my tent and left me with the dilemma of what I should do next. How come everyone always points their finger at me as the leader?

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

Since my trainer was going to pay me no mind or give me any direction, I followed my cousin around all morning. We saw Tifa at the crowded in drinking a pink drink with an umbrella in the cup. She looked unhappy. Yuffie automatically hopped over to the table she sat at with a mission to cheer her up.

"What's up?" Yuffie asked nudging Tifa when she didn't acknowledge Yuffie's entrance.

"Vincent knows about Cloud and I." she her voice was in an unusual monotone. Her voice was almost as animated as Yuffie's sometimes. Yuffie only rolled her eyes.

"Like he'd tell anyone, he barely speaks!" she laughed and nudged me to laugh as well. I let a few soft chuckles slip then speaking of the devil…

"Hey you…whydya haveta go stickin your nose in other people's business, huh?" Yuffie stood up and marched up to him with her chest out. He looked down at her for a second then up at me.

"Let's go." He said simply. I stood quickly and tried to walk to him, but Yuffie grabbed my wrist and pulled me back as she walked back to the table.

"Say, please Xilamani I'd like you to come with me." Yuffie grinned that same grin she always used when she was up to something. "You can't just order people around all rude-like."

Vincent glared at her then looked at me. "Tell her to let you go." He said in an equally cool tone.

I smile at Yuffie. "Yuffie…"

"No Xila! Don't let that idiot drag you around!" She then whispered to me. "Don't you want to hear him say your name?" It occurred to me that I had never once heard him call me by my name. I wasn't even entirely sure he knew it.

Vincent seemed to be getting angry and as if on cue the ground began to shake and a strange noise could be heard from outside. Vincent ran to us and grabbed both my arm and Yuffie's arm.

"Gross! Don't touch me with that icky claw!!" Vincent ignored her comment.

"Tifa…let's go. It's here…" He said. The two stared at each other for a while then finally Tifa stood and followed Vincent as he drug both Yuffie and I through the Inn and outside where Cid's airship was hovering nearby with a ladder hanging out of it. Other local residents were climbing up the ladder already. Yuffie was the first one out of us to get on and she quickly scrambled up the ladder and was on the ship in no time. Then Tifa went and she was equally as fast, but when it got my turn I realized just how hard it was to climb one of these things. Yuffie and Tifa made it look so easy. In the distance I could see a huge wave that was about to crash into the town, crash into us! Vincent evidently saw it too, because he jumped on the ladder and was literally pushing me along with his claw against my backside. A little embarrassing I would say, but in this near death situation it was probably necessary. As soon as we were both on the airship Cid took off.

"Cloud!! Where's Cloud?!?!" Tifa screamed. We all rushed forward to look out the window at what was about to happen at the coast.

"Reno's probably got him. If not, we all know Cloud will survive." Barret said. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

Cid took a puff of his cigarette before flying us high above the town. I continued to stare down at the coast from the window and watched as the huge wave thrashed down on Costa Del Sol, smashing buildings and probably people as well. And then I saw it…Sin… It was huge! Cid hovered high over water so we could all watch what was happening.

I felt leather covered fingers wrap around my wrist and yank me away from the window. "Don't watch it. Images like that will forever haunt your mind." Vincent pulled away from the window and forced me to stand beside him. Not that I minded though…

Before I knew it we were back at the headquarters. Cloud had indeed come with Reno on his plane, but he and Tifa had to pretend not to be _too_ concerned about each other as we all met up in the lobby. People were rushing around frantically, alarms and phones were ringing loudly. You would have thought the PPRO headquarters themselves were under attack.

Vincent, who had disappeared, suddenly reappeared and motioned for me to follow him. We walked to his office where he immediately handed me a little bag with a picture of a gil coin on it.

"Ten thousand gil. The average rate for an out of town mission." He muttered handing me the maroon colored bag. I took it and held it in my hand. He closed his office door and returned to his desk. I followed and took my seat on that file cabinet.

He sighed loudly. "This is great…" I looked over his shoulder and saw that he had brought up the internet and news had already been posted on what happened today in Costa Del Sol. My eyes caught the shocking number of deaths…two thousand people… For a town with only four thousand, this was a huge deal. Although I imagine a huge chunk of these deaths were the PPRO soldiers on the coast.

"What's going to happen now?" I sounded like a child. Vincent turned to me and looked at me for a while.

"Who am I to answer that? I just work here." He looked back at the computer for a while and evidently got fed up with all of the bad news and turned it off. There was complete silence in the room for a while. I was starting to get used to these kinds of silences as they happened so frequently with Vincent.

"Last night did you…"

My cheeks instantly flushed and I turned my face to the side so my hair would hide my cheeks. "You fell asleep…so I left." Why did I just lie to him? Now would have been a good time to tell him exactly what happened. But that would be so…awkward.

I heard him sigh. "I see…well, you're free to go. Rest up, as who knows what tomorrow will bring after today's events."

I recovered and faced him. "Ok…" I scooted off the file cabinet and walked to the door. "Goodbye." He responded with a grunting noise of acknowledgement. When I got back to Tifa's bar, she and Cloud were in the living room hugging.

"I...I didn't act in time…" Cloud said. Tifa's back was to me so I could see Cloud's face over her shoulder and he looked stunned. "This is all my fault…"

"Cloud…it's not your fault you had no idea when that thing was going to attack…" Tifa replied. Cloud closed his eyes and held her closer. Watching them instantly pushed flashbacks of last night in my mind. It felt so good being in his arms like that… Even if he wouldn't remember… I heaved a dreamy sigh and walked upstairs to right to my parents so I could send them this gil.

_Dear Mom and Dad_,

_I haven't heard from you yet, please let me know everything's ok. I'm still doing well. Before you get this letter you will probably have heard the news about Costa del Sol. I was there! I saw almost everything! But I am unharmed. The people here __take good care of __me. __My trainer has even warmed up a little__ He's actually quite a kind man.__ I've met the people who are here from Spira, the other planet from which these fiends are coming from. They are very __nice,__ and very much like us. They are also staying here at Tifa's place. Anyways since I was sent on an out of town mission the pay was 10,000 __gil__! So I have sent it with this letter. I'm doing my best out here for you. Please let me know everything is well. _

_Love Always,_

_Xilamani_

I searched the house for a bigger envelope that would hold the small money bag. Once I found one I filled out the addresses and pinned it to the mailbox. Afterwards I dressed in something more comfortable and rested up for the rest of the day and the night although it was hard to sleep worrying about what would happen tomorrow…


	9. Ghosts in Shinra Manor

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Ghosts in Shinra Manor**

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

After Sin destroyed more than five hundred PPRO soldiers, the headquarters were very quiet. Over the last week Shalua and my trainer decided that I would be better suited for infirmary work for now. At least until she could assign milder missions for Vincent to take me on. It didn't pay as much per day, only 200 gil, but at least I was doing something. Vincent and the other members from our section took another trip back to Costa Del Sol to rid what was left of the town of Sinspawn. This past week here in the infirmary, I've really missed the crew. However I have made two new friends. Barret had an adopted daughter named Marlene who up until now stayed with a housekeeper in his new apartment in Midgar. The housekeeper ironically had family in Costa del Sol and quit on the spot to fly out there to see if they were ok. This led to Marlene moving into Tifa's bar with the rest of us. Also there was a boy named Denzel who up until now was staying with a man who claimed to be his father. Denzel admitted to preferring life with Tifa and Cloud so he too moved back into the house. He and Marlene shared a play room in the basement that also posed as their bedroom. The basements in Midgar where built much different than the ones in Wutai. I was surprised at how nice they were. Since Denzel was nine years old this year, Tifa let me know that it was ok to leave the children home alone while I was at work. They made good company around the house as everyone else was gone. I received my first letter from my mother. It read:

_My dear Xila_

_We are so grateful to have a daughter like you. The __gil__ you've sent has helped us greatly. __Your father and I are so glad to hear you are ok. When we heard the news of the deaths in Costa del Sol, we were so worried! I am also glad to hear that you are surrounded by good people. Please give __them__ thanks from us and tell Yuffie thanks as well. Her contribution has been helpful as well. Already we have just over thirty thousand __gil__ thanks to you wonderful girls. I wish you the best and I love you both dearly. _

My mother and father both signed the letter at the bottom. I smiled after reading it. She didn't mention her condition, but I assumed if she was well enough to write, she was ok. Her penmanship was flawless as ever. I smiled as I folded the letter up again and stuck it in the top drawer of the small table beside my bed. I had already saw to it that the children had dinner and were put to bed so I was about to sleep as well when I heard what sounded like someone coming through the front door. Not too long after that I heard someone's quick feet running up the stairs.

"Xila!!" Yuffie ran into the room and jumped on my bed. "Aren't you glad we're back!?" She giggled and sat down at the end of my bed. I could see the sunburn across her cheeks and on her shoulders, the rest of her was pretty tan as well. I smiled and nodded.

"I heard from my parents."

"Oh! Did you!? I wanna read it!" she hopped off my bed and over to hers while I got into the drawer and pulled out the letter for her to read. She read it to herself and handed it back to me with a huge grin. "So glad Aunt Shizuka alright…" she sighed happily. "Oh you better get your trainer! I saw him walkin and talkin with Yuna in Costa del Sol one night."

An odd feeling struck me. I couldn't possibly be getting jealous… "Is that so?" I asked turning my face away and trying to sound as if I didn't care. Although I couldn't figure out myself why I did.

"Yeah, you can go talk to him now. He's downstairs at the bar with Cloud, Cid and Barret." She grinned and jumped across the room at me to cling to my arm before dragging me downstairs. I didn't even have a second to decline or to request that I put some decent clothes on. I was dressed in a white tank top and light blue pajama capris. Yuffie drug me through the living room and into the bar area. The room was filled with smoke because not only was Cid smoking his cigarettes but Barret was smoking a cigar. Vincent was sitting at the very end of the bar away from everyone else. Tifa sat an elegant glass of wine in front of him. Yuffie proceeded to drag me right over to him and pushed me towards the bar stool right next to him while she stood at the end of the table where there was no chair and simply leaned against it with her elbows up on the table. Rikku suddenly appeared as well and looked at Vincent.

"Hey Vinnie! When you gonna take your trainee out on another mission?" She winked at me then looked back at him.

He turned to me. "Tomorrow we leave for Nibelhiem." I nodded at this.

"Can I have a sip of your wine, Vinnie?" Yuffie grinned at him as she leaned closer as if to get a whiff of the liquid. "Me too me too!" Rikku chimed in.

"How old are you?" He asked looking down at his glass.

"Nineteen! Duh! Oh yeah that's right you didn't show up to my nineteenth birthday party!" She crossed her arms and turned her back on him before storming off. "No way how rude!!" Rikku added as she followed Yuffie off into the living room where Yuna sat talking to her commsphere.

He didn't seem to be affected as he continued to sip his wine while I drank my lemonade.

"Teef, is it ok if I crash here?" I heard Cid ask in his loud voice.

"Me too?" Came Barret's booming voice.

"Sure sure. I have a few roll out beds in the basement I'll have to bring up." She said leaving the bar. The two men stood both looking exhausted. I would imagine everyone would have been after their long mission. Vincent finished his wine and left money on the bar before standing.

"I'll be here to get you at five tomorrow morning." He said as he walked past my bar stool. The tattered ends of his cloak teased the back of my leg as he walked by. I watched him that powerful walk of his until he disappeared around the corner of the doorway and was gone.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

I took a seat on my leather couch and turned on the TV. Every channel was dedicated to giving everyone the news of what's become of Costa del Sol. I watched for a while until I felt my eyes get heavy. I stood and rubbed a hand down my face to wipe the sleep away. I would experience enough nightmares returning to that place tomorrow. After washing up, I rushed the time by cleaning the house a little. I've neglected this task for some time now. I was so absorbed in the act that I barely realized it was already five o'clock. I had even done laundry for the first time in months and my cloak was still a bit damp. The weather in Nibelhiem was much cooler so walking around in wet clothes may not be the best idea. I sighed loudly as I was forced to leave the house without it. I winced at the torment I would receive from Yuffie and Tifa.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

Vincent so far has never picked me up at the exact time he would say. I sighed as I looked up at the clock on the wall that read five-thirty. Finally I heard someone knock on the door. Everyone else was asleep at this time in the morning so I knew it could only be Vincent. I hurried to the door in my jeans and long sleeved yellow shirt that I borrowed from Yuffie. I didn't know she owned anything long sleeved… I wrapped my long hair up into a large bun at the back of my head, but left my bangs loose. I pulled open the door and had to stop myself from gasping. Vincent without his cloak… and in the light… I felt as if I was going to need to physically remove my gaze from his face as I stared for a while. I noticed he wasn't wearing a glove over his right hand either. The skin from his elbow all the way to his fingertips was exposed.

"Ready?" he asked looking around in the house behind me instead of at me.

"Yes." I followed him out to his car and hopped in. We drove around for a few minutes in silence before Vincent spoke again.

"It's a long drive…so if you need a few more hours of rest…now would be the time to take it."

How could I possibly rest with him sitting next to me?! "Ok…" I replied but didn't make any move to position myself to sleep. But after an hour at the most I found myself drifting off…

I awoke with the feeling of a hand on my shoulder. I quickly looked over at Vincent and then at my surroundings. We were parked in front of a gate to a huge, but dilapidated looking mansion. He spoke again.

"Strange noises and appearances have been thought to come from here…" He got out of the car and looked up at the mansion. Without his cloak it was easier to read his expressions. His pale lips were turned down into a frown, but it was a frown of uneasiness.

"This place looks haunted…" I commented as I got out of his car and stood next to him for the longest time he made no move to enter this building. Then finally he took his first step towards the gate that was left cracked open. He pushed the gate open and walked inside the front yard of the place. He sighed loudly before going in the front door. It would have been extremely dark in the place if half of the windows hadn't been broken open. Vincent surprised me by turning around really fast proceeding to leave again. He almost knocked me over in the process.

"What's wrong?" I asked as he placed his hand on the door.

"Many things went wrong here…" he said.

"Hmm?" I watched him move away from the door and lean against the wall.

"I have a past with this place… an…unhappy past." He looked over at me and moved towards me. "Being here is rather unnerving…but let's just get this over with." He surprised me again by taking my hand in his bare one. "Safety precaution." He said as if to cancel any of my thoughts of him possible doing it as an intimate gesture. I personally believed the man was afraid and took my hand to ease his own mind. We walked through the empty mansion for a while hand in hand not seeing anything threatening or violent by any means except for a few of the normal fiends that resided here. Suddenly we walked by an open doorway that had pyreflies swirling around it. Vincent backed up against the wall and slowly peered around the doorframe. What he saw must have been a surprise because he quickly backed away and let go of my hand. I looked around the doorframe and saw a ghost of a woman standing there with pyreflies surrounding her. I screamed and felt Vincent grab my arm as we proceeded to run away.

"Wait! Don't be afraid! Vincent… don't you recognize me…" The ghost followed us. Vincent stopped but didn't turn around. He swallowed hard and turned around to face the woman. Yuna did tell us the pyreflies can do many unpredictable things… I began to settle down realizing the woman wasn't going to try to scare us or do us any harm.

"What are you doing here?" Vincent asked. His voice didn't even sound like his own. "Lucrecia…"

So this was her…

"I've been trying to find you…I figured that one day you would return here eventually…" she smiled at me. "What a pretty girl you have with you." Vincent dropped my arm immediately.

"What do you want?" His voice returned to its usual cold monotone.

"I am what everyone is calling Sin." She said causing Vincent and I both to gasp. "It was an accident… Hojo and I along with many other deceased somehow found our way to a new planet…to a place called the Farplane… where Hojo found Sin. His original plan was to become Sin himself, but I got tied into his plans once again and accidently became Sin. There's so much more I want to tell you but I can already feel the energy keeping me here getting weak…" Her form was fading out a little bit. Vincent stepped forward as if he were going to try to touch her but didn't.

"How do we defeat it?" He asked.

"Wait until it's docile…there's a way inside of Sin… you will see me there…goodbye Vincent." She faded away and the pyreflies dispersed. Vincent dropped to his knees and buried his face into his hands, but there was no time for grieving as we both heard a roaring coming from the basement. Vincent quickly composed himself and took my hand once again.

"So…she is Sin? But how can she be here? I thought the deceased only had access in Spira…" I said as Vincent took me down the longest flight of stairs ever.

"I don't know anymore than you do, but we need to finish this quickly so I can speak to Yuna about this." Yuna… But of course she's the one that knows everything… I tried my best not to give into my immature thoughts. The basement of this mansion was enough to scare them right out of me…

Gross looking fiends crawled along the walls and floors. We passed by a room filled with coffins and my stomach turned. "You don't think they keep…dead people in those do you?" I asked as we passed the room.

"I slept in that one for thirty years." Vincent said pointing to the one in the middle.

"Oh…I'm sorry, but…why?" I instantly regretted asking once I saw the pain in Vincent's face. "Uh…never mind…"

He remained unresponsive until finally came across what was making all of the noises. "What the hell?"

If I wasn't so scared, I would have laughed at his response to the creature. This part of the basement was so far underground that it made the ceiling very high. High enough to accommodate this huge disturbing looking creature. It was chained down by an unknown force with its arms across its chest and its wings up by its shoulders. It's head reminded me of a fish and it wore a necklace with a rectangular picture of a woman on it. It cried out and shot an attack out at Vincent and me. Vincent ducked and quickly retaliated with a shot. I pulled my gun out as well and this time wasn't afraid to shoot it. My shot miraculously hit the fiend right in its green eye. Vincent looked down at me.

"Nice shot for a trainee." He muttered. Blood poured from the eye but it didn't seem to stop the fiend from attacking us again. The power of the explosion knocked me and Vincent back against the dirt wall. Yuffie was going to kill me if this dirt stained her yellow shirt. Vincent and I continued to shoot at the creature, the rest of my shots weren't as good. I even missed the huge thing completely once. Suddenly everything in the room turned black. Vincent and I were sucked into an alternate plane where everything was mostly orange, red, and black then the fiend appeared and a skeleton came out from underneath it that attacked Vincent and me both with viciously with its fists. I laid there afterwards on that dirt floor just sure every bone in my body was broken. Vincent lay beside me completely unconscious. Panic shook my body. What am I going to do…?!


	10. Discovering While Recovering

**Trained By the Trainee**

**Discovering While Recovering **

I closed my eyes waiting for the next attack to just kill me off, but it never came. I turned my head to see that the creature had returned to its docile state we found it in. I slowly sat up realizing that none of my bones had been broken, but I was surely going to have some terrible bruises in a minute. Vincent lay face down on the floor next to me still clutching his handgun tightly in his right hand. I shook him lightly.

"Vincent…" I didn't want to shake him too hard. "Are you ok? Vincent… please…" My voice seemed to disturb the monster as it began to stir and prepare for another attack. Seeing no other option I grabbed Vincent's legs and drug him as far away as I could. I couldn't even remember exactly how we got here so I didn't know the way back. I spotted a small black object on the dirt floor about three feet away and realized it was Vincent's cell phone that must have fallen from his pocket as I drug him. I quickly retrieved it and opened it. My parents never bought me a cell phone so I had no idea how to work one. After frantically pressing buttons I cam across a contacts list which consisted of only a few people. I dialed Shalua's office.

"Hello this is…"

I immediately cut her off. "Shalua! This is Xilamani…Vincent's hurt! I don't know what to do! I don't know where I am! And…and…I…" Tears began to pour once I felt the ground shake and heard a noise come from behind me…

"Calm down. Vincent's wearing his tracking device, I've already picked up your location and help will be on the way soon, ok? Hang in there." She hung up on me. I looked down at Vincent's pale face. It was expressionless as ever and a person passing by may believe him to be dead. I had to check his pulse just to be sure myself. After sitting on a cold dirt floor crying for an hour, help finally arrived and just to be safe, put Vincent and I both on stretchers to carry us out of the place.

Once back at the headquarters Vincent and I were taken to separate rooms in the infirmary where they kept their master Restore materia. First they made me shower, as the cure was less effective on a dirty body. They provided me with white pajama like pants and a tight fitting white T-shirt once I finished. I laid very still on their operating table while a nurse cured me. When she was finished I was immediately dismissed. I waited around in the entrance area of the infirmary to see if Vincent had been released as quickly as well. After standing around for about fifteen minutes I realized that he wouldn't be. I asked the receptionist if she knew what room they took him too. She informed me and I made my way there and saw Vincent lying on a bed wide awake. His bandana, gun, and shoes were sitting on the floor next to his bed. For the first time I saw his entire face. When his eyes met mine my heart stopped. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and white pants as well. His black hair contrasted severely with his pale skin and white clothing.

"You look well." He muttered averting his gaze from my face allowing me to relax a little. I always got so tense with those eyes on me. I stood a couple feet from his bed.

"Are _you_ well?" I asked stroking my damp ponytail.

"Hm." He responded with a nod.

"Why haven't they released you?" I couldn't keep my eyes off of his face. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"With such severe injuries…the curing took a lot out of my body…" Now that he mentioned that I could tell he did look drained. A nurse in her short white skirt and white top with a bow around her neck popped in the doorway.

"A friend of Mr. Valentine? He can go home now, but shouldn't drive. After a night's rest he should be in perfect shape." She shot us an OK sign with her fingers and disappeared again. Vincent slowly sat up and swung his legs over the sign of the bed. His dirty clothes, just like mine had been cleaned and neatly folded into a pile. Mine were now stuffed in my backpack. He reached into a pocket of his pants and danged his keys at me. I took the keys from his fingers.

"Do you know how to drive?" he asked me while continuing to collect his things. I did not, but he seemed eager to get out of this place so I tried to make myself believe driving wouldn't be so hard.

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

"What?!" I almost screamed into the commsphere. Paine sighed and explained again.

"A man who called himself Sephiroth has control of the fayth. He's forced them to begin dreaming again and entrust him with the Aeons, but he's not using them for good. Dona and Issaru have regained their titles as summoners again. It's basically a huge battle of the summoners here… A man named Hojo has emerged from the Farplane. He seems to be against Sephiroth, but he's not exactly a good guy either. He is responsible for Sin on that planet. Since Sin's dead and been sent to the Farplane its body cannot exist here, but with life inside it, it cannot reside in the Farplane therefore whoever's inside Sin led it back to the planet your on." I looked at Paine with disbelief. Then I thought for a moment… The fayth are dreaming again… Tidus… a dream of the fayth. He really is here! He has to be! As much as I just wanted to take off and search the entire planet for the love of my life, I realized that my problems were not the main priority here. I needed to get back to Spira…

"Yuna…" Paine said to get my attention again.

"Oh…sorry…uh…Is it really that bad there?" I asked. Paine never specified the exact condition Spira was in. Were people dying? Had there been mass destruction?

"A strange girl that always appears within a blinding light has helped out few times. I've been travelling with Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal once again. It's almost like old times… But anyways… as of right now it's an even battle. Even if he manages to get all the normal Aeons, Sephiroth can't obtain the final Aeon with no guardian to be that Aeon for him. So our main worry is that someone stupid will step up and help him and unleashing the Final Aeon's power against the planet rather than at an enemy… Who knows what kind of damage that will cause."

I nodded. "Alright Paine. I'll inform the others of what's going on and I'll try to get back soon." I shut off the commsphere and as much as I wanted to think about planning a way back to Spira. My mind couldn't stay off of Tidus…

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

After a terrifying joy ride, my trainee and I arrived at my house. I jumped out of my car and almost landed face first into the concrete. The cure spell left me dizzy and weak. I hated the feeling… I then realized my next issue. The rest of the gang had been sent to Junon to investigate a possible appearance of Sinspawn which would mean that they would be getting back late. I had forgotten what an early start we had today and even after all of the day's events, it was only five o'clock. How was I going to entertain this girl for the rest of the evening? Hm...Well, at least I tidied up last night. I gathered my belongings from the back of the car and grabbed my key. The girl stood there by the car as if she honestly expected me to leave her standing in my driveway.

"Are you coming? Tifa and the others are out of town today." I said as I pushed my front door open.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I swallowed hard before entering the small house. From the outside it didn't really look like a place Vincent Valentine would live. The siding of the house was light blue with white trim around the windows and a white front door. The yard was neatly cut and everything looked clean cut and simple. However, the inside looked much more fitting. The emblem I saw hanging from his gun was the main decoration in the house. There was a huge silver emblem hanging on the wall to the right of the front door. His clock was shaped the same. Vincent's walls were painted dark grey and his carpet was black. His huge couch was dark grey and looked very soft. He had a matching recliner on the right side of the couch. He had a very nice entertainment center. I was surprised to see on the glass shelf that stuff out of his wall there was a stereo. Straight ahead from the front door was an arch doorway the size of two doors that led to his kitchen. I could see the floors were white tiled, his cabinets were black with silver tops and on every other section there was that silver emblem printed on it. Vincent took off his boots at the door and tossed his belongings aside. There was plenty of floor space. I sat my bag down by the door and took my shoes off as well. Vincent walked over to his sofa and sat down, flipping open his phone. I stood by the door unsure of what to do. I haven't ever been to anyone else's home like this. As a child, I was so shy that I could hardly make friends and the friends I did have would always come to my house. He looked up at me and waved me to sit down. I did so on the farthest section of the couch from him. He tossed the remote to his TV at me.

"Hello Cloud?" I heard him say. He stood and disappeared down his hallway. I sat on the couch flipping through the hundreds of channels. Our small TV in Wutai only had about ten. About twenty minutes later after I was finally relaxed, lying against Vincent's soft couch, I heard him coming back down the hallway. He sighed loudly as he sat down on the couch. He had tied his hair back in a low ponytail and changed from the white T-shirt to a black one, but kept the white pants on. "Tomorrow we must speak to Yuna about getting Sin into a docile position. Then we begin our new mission of destroying it."

"Oh…" I said looking over at him. He looked so exhausted, but if he still had nightmare problems there would be no way he would get a night's rest tonight and he would not be feeling any better tomorrow. About an hour later after sitting around watching more news on the rebuilding of Costa del Sol, my stomach alerted both me and Vincent of my hunger. He looked at me for a while before asking.

"Hungry?"

I laughed nervously. "Yes…"

He leaned forward and shuffled through some papers on his coffee table. "There's a Wutain take out place nearby…"

"Really?!" I blushed after my slight outburst. It would just really be nice to have a taste of home. Vincent surprised me by responding with a smirk.

"They even deliver." He flipped through the folded menu then handed it to me while he picked up his cell phone again. "What are you having?"

I looked over the items on the menu. "I'll have the spicy chicken with a container of white rice."

He dialed the number on the paper and ordered the food for us. He then was quick to answer the door twenty minutes later when the food arrived. Instead of eating in the kitchen Vincent insisted after he cleared off the coffee table that we both sit on the floor and eat in the living room. Vincent got Wutain noodles with steamed vegetables along with a container of white rice.

"Eating this…reminds me of my mother. She was Wutain as well." He said without looking at me. I smiled with my lips pressed together as my mouth was full of food. After I swallowed I responded.

"Really? Have you ever lived in Wutai?" Suddenly Vincent didn't seem so intimidating. Sitting here on the floor next to him, I was the most comfortable that I've been in Midgar since day one.

He shook his head no. "My mother moved to Midgar with my father. That's where I was born and raised. I have been there once with Cloud and the others on our search for Sephiroth."

"What happened in Nibelheim?" I asked setting my chopsticks down for a moment to wipe my face with a napkin. As we continued to eat Vincent told me the entire story of his past. He started with his job as a Turk, then explained to me the object of the Jenova Project and how he was against it from the start but didn't try to stop the one he was madly in love with at the time from getting involved. Lucrecia then began to seem like such a silly woman to me. Not only was she used once by Hojo, but twice now she had got herself tied up in his evil plans when really all she had to do was stay by Vincent and her life would have been perfect. He then told me about his murder…the demons…and the fact that he was just now able to age again. He even shared with me that his birthday was in a few months and it would be the first time he could say a new age which would be twenty eight. He and I talked until around ten o'clock that night. He collected our trash from eating and disposed of it. He came back into the room and laid down on the couch. I was seated up against the couch on the floor, but was still face to face with him.

"Vincent…" I started. I could see that he really wanted to just sleep, but knew he couldn't make it through the night without having terrible nightmares. I decided I would just tell him about the night in the tent and offer to do the same tonight.

He sighed in response and closed his eyes. "Yes?"

"I used to have nightmares too..." His eyes snapped open and he stared at me. "My mom used to sit by my bed and stroke my hair so that I could sleep." I proceeded to reach up and touch his bangs and I ran my fingernails into his hair. He closed his eyes for a while and almost appeared to be asleep, but opened his eyes again and gently took my hand with his claw.

"I can't ask you to do that…" he reluctantly released my hand after removing it from his head. "You need your rest too. Maybe you should call Cloud now. They're probably back and he can pick you up and take you home."

"Do you remember the last night you slept? I stayed in your tent that night." I said ignoring his attempt to send me home. He didn't look surprised.

"I figured that much after waking with your scent on me." He yawned and closed his eyes again. "Let me battle my own nightmares. I'll be fine."

"You need a night's rest to recover. How am I supposed to survive in this job without a healthy trainer?" I smiled at him though he didn't smile back.

He sighed again and seemed to be giving in. "Go grab a blanket out of the closet in the hallway." I followed his instructions and grabbed a huge black furry blanket. When I returned to the living room Vincent was laying further back against the couch with room enough for another person to lay with him. I paused at the coffee table unsure of what he wanted me to do. He patted the spot next to him, but I didn't move. He couldn't possibly be asking what I'm thinking he's asking. After a few minutes he yawned again.

"I may look like a vampire, but Xilamani, I won't bite you." So he did know my name. I smiled and hid half of my face behind the blanket. I then laughed softly at his joke. I eased towards him and slowly sat down on the couch tossing the blanket over us. "Turn the lamp off, will you?" he said while I was still sitting. I leaned forward and touched the end of the tall lamp beside his couch that triggered it to turn off, leaving Vincent and I in almost complete darkness. The only source of light was coming from the fridge in the kitchen. As soon as I laid down I was scooped up in his arms. He let me get settled into a comfortable position before resting his head on my chest. "If you say anything to anyone about this, you're dead." His tone was harsh.

"Ok." I squeaked.

"That's a promise." Those are the last words I heard him say before we both drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow would surely be an awkward morning not only with Vincent, but with the rest of the crew. How was I going to explain spending the night at Vincent's?!

* * *

**ChristalSteele **you know, I totally forgot about Auron, Braska and Jetch… Anyways all of your questions will be answered within the next few chapters. And maybe now that you've said that comment on Vincent and Auron, I might just have to make Auron appear because that would be interesting. 

THANKS to everyone else that has reviewed so far!!


	11. Additions to the Team

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Additions to the Team**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

After I slowly drifted back into consciousness I propped myself up on my right elbow and stared down at the young girl I slept next to. Thankfully, she was still sleeping. You are well on your way to committing another sin, Valentine. _Well_ on your way. I couldn't help thinking this as I continued to stare down at her beautiful features. I very gently touched her face with my metal fingers. I did indeed have feeling in this arm and admired the softness of her round cheek. I quickly snapped out of my foolish admirations and slowly eased my way off of the couch without waking her. Despite the success, the sound of the doorbell ringing did indeed wake her. I bent forward to look at who was outside. Yuffie…

"It's for you." I turned to my guest and said. I honestly just didn't want to be the one to face Yuffie so I walked off towards my bedroom.

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and walked to the door. I pulled it open to see Yuffie standing there with her arms crossed. "You've got some explaining to do, missy." Yuffie pushed past me into Vincent's house. "Whoa! Cool! This place is like totally Vincent!" she said looking around at all the emblem decorations. "Anyways, like what's going on!? Tifa and I called Vinnie's cell phone like a hundred times last night and no answer! Then we heard that you guys both got hurt in Nibelheim and like everyone was freakin out…" she looked at me to explain.

"Vincent was the one that was hurt badly in Nibelheim, so I had to drive him here after we were cured at the infirmary in the headquarters. They didn't want him driving because the cure left him really dizzy and tired. So, once I got here I really didn't have a way anywhere else until you guys got back…and uh…while we waited for you to return, we both just fell asleep. I slept here on the couch." I pointed to the furry black blanket on the couch.

"Geez, you mean Vincent didn't offer you his bed? I wonder what his bedroom looks like..." She snickered before darting off down the hall. I followed her as she approached his bedroom. The door was wide open and Vincent was pretending to just be getting out of his bed. "Well good morning, hot pants." She said pointing at his white pants from the infirmary yesterday. He glared at her, but it didn't stop her from continuing to taunt him.

"White really doesn't compliment your pale skin, Vinnie. Stick with the black and red, kay?" She gave him a pat on the shoulder ignoring his death glare and proceeded to jump on his king sized bed. "Woo hoo!!" she plopped down and buried her face in his pillows. "Two more hours…" she said pretending to fall asleep. Vincent looked as if he were about to explode.

"Yuffie." He said sternly.

"Ok, Ok, chill out, dude…Xila are you ready? Vincent, you guys get ready and we call all ride back to Tifa's together, catch breakfast and go to work. Yuna called a meeting at 9:00 this morning and it seems real important." She slid off of Vincent's huge bed and walked toward me, and then looked back at Vincent.

"You coulda shared this huge bed with her, you know. That was rude making her sleep on the couch while you hog this huge thing all to yourself, ya big meanie!" It seemed silly to me that we didn't just share his bed instead of piling on top of each other on the couch. However, I was just relieved that Yuffie didn't know the actual true. I personally didn't want to die… and definitely not by Vincent…

**∞Tifa's POV∞**

I eyed Vincent suspiciously as I placed a plate of pancakes in front of him at my bar. He didn't make eye contact with me at all. I couldn't tell if he was hiding something or not, Vincent was always like this. Xilamani sat one seat away from him it was her turn to get the suspicious eye. She didn't look at me either, but like Vincent, she wasn't one to make eye contact very often either. Her eyes met mine for a brief second as she thanked me for the pancakes.

"You're welcome." I replied, the suspicion thick in my voice. Me and Yuffie exchanged winks. I was beginning to smell a hypocrite. I watched Vincent eat my pancakes slowly and then I caught him as he sent a lingering glance Xila's way. Cloud came downstairs and hopped on the stool in between Vincent and Xila. I eyed Vincent closely for any kind of reactions he might have shown, there were none. Cloud was starting to give me a weird look. Like always he was 'outside of the circle'. I'm not even sure if he was even aware that she was missing last night.

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

Rikku and I left Tifa's bar early this morning to prepare for this meeting we were going to hold. At first we talked with Paine a little while on the Commsphere. For some reason, it always came in clearer here at the headquarters, so when we needed to use it we always came here. At around five minutes until nine, people started showing up in the meeting room.

Shalua was of course first, then later came Tifa, Cloud, Xilamani, Yuffie, and Vincent all in a group. At 9:01 Cid, Barret, and Nanaki showed, and five minutes after them Reno and Rude finally showed. Two unfamiliar faces appeared as well, they seemed to be close with Reno and Rude. One was a lady with blond hair and the other was a man with slicked back black hair. I cleared my throat nervously ready to start the meeting and looked down at some notes I wrote down from the conversation with Paine.

"Am I late…for the meeting…, Yuna." That husky voice could only belong to…

"Auron!?" Rikku and I both asked in unison as we looked up at the man in the doorway. He strutted in with his face lowered into his high collar. I used to think he was the only one with a cloak like that until I met…Vincent. Vincent seemed to be thinking the same thing as he eyed the man with that "hey your wearing my shirt" look. The expression quickly faded from his face as he caught me staring at him.

"I'm glad you remembered me." He said taking a seat next to Cid. The two men nodded at each other, and then Auron sent a nod at the rest of the crew.

"How did you get here? Do you know what's going on in Spira? Maybe you are better prepared to conduct this meeting." Yuna said taking a seat at the end of the table. Rikku standing by her side.

"I only have knowledge of what happened in the Farplane." He said. "Tell us what you know and I'll tell you what I do." I nodded and began to explain everything.

I talked for an hour on the history of the Sin, the fayth, and just about everything in Spira. I also let them know of Sephiroth planning on obtaining the power of the Final Aeon. When I spoke of a girl surrounded in light helping Spira at the moment they all instantly identified her as Aerith. They shared with me her story and how she was murdered by Sephiroth. Their words of her power as an Ancient eased my mind a little as it seemed Spira at least had some reliable source of protection. Not that I didn't think Paine and the guys weren't strong, but when it comes to power such as the power of the Final Aeon, there is so much a sword can do…

It was then Auron's turn to speak. He's story was quite shocking. It all started when a man named Hojo appeared in the Farplane. He found a way make the pyreflies cluster together to form people instead of fiends. Therefore all the deceased were no longer just memories floating around, but solid human beings once again only they resided in the Farplane and could only exist in the Farplane however this did not stop them from trying to escape which only resulted in their bodies being transformed into fiends as soon as they entered Spira. Since Auron was deceased he had no way of reaching Spira therefore he had no idea of what was going on there.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

For a young girl with no knowledge of the world outside of Wutai, all of this information was making my head spin. After Yuna and Auron spoke, Vincent spoke up.

"I know who Sin is." He said. He was sitting beside me with his back turned to me. Everyone looked at him intently. "Lucrecia is Sin. I spoke with an image of her at Shinra Manor before we attempt to defeat the creature in the basement."

Everyone gasped except for Yuna, Rikku, and this new man Auron, who obviously didn't know who Lucrecia was. Yuna seemed to have a hint as she was the only one of the three who didn't look totally lost.

"She said something about defeating Sin when it's docile…" he looked down at the table obviously uncomfortable with everyone staring at him.

"When my guardians and I defeated Sin, it was Jetch. Jetch happened to really like the hymn of the fayth, so we had all of Spira singing the hymn to bring him into a docile state. Do you know a song or…something special that Lucrecia liked?" Yuna asked Vincent.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a while. Memories of her must have been painful for him. Finally he spoke again. "She…she loved the smell of flowers."

Some of the members scoffed at this answer, but Rikku instantly chimed in. "Yeah! We could plant a huge garden of flowers; use Sinspawn to lure Sin to it and when she smells the flowers Sin will become docile and bam! We attack!"

Yuna and Rikku high fived each other. Auron didn't seem as thrilled. "Without Aeons do you think we stand a chance?"

"Ya know, your Aeons look a lot like the creatures in our Summon Materia! I'm sure with alota good materia, we could beat it, right?! I happen to have a few master summon materia under my mattress…" A guilty look crossed her features. I instantly knew this meant she had stolen the materia, but what did it matter now? We obviously needed it regardless of where it came from to defeat Sin before it destroys more towns. The rest of the crew nodded and made comments of agreements and by noon we had officially established our game plan. But now an odd job was at hand. Where are we going to plant this huge garden of flowers and how long is it going to take? As far as who was going to plant the flowers I had no doubt that the volunteer civilians were going to be stuck with that job.

After the meeting I followed Vincent to his office where we waiting for Shalua to get back with us.

**∞Shalua's POV∞**

What a…_man._ Oh…no! What am I thinking?! I slapped a hand to my forehead. I held up my camera and took Auron's picture for the ID he needed to become a new member of our team. I provided him with all the equipment needed, including a PHS and a tracking device. He brought a very old Katana blade with him, so I showed him to the basement where all the weapon rooms were so he could upgrade. After he was set, I sent him out with Cloud, Barret, and Nanaki to finish off the monster in Shinra Manor. I felt bad for sending Vincent and his trainee on such a difficult mission. I misjudged the mission as being mild. My mind then floated off as I thought about this _Auron_ fellow. I stifled the urge to giggle like a little girl then quickly sat up straight in my chair and shook all those thoughts away. I am a vice president! Such behavior is not acceptable! Not in a time like this! I scolded myself. Oh! That's right, a mission for Vincent and Xilamani.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

Finally Vincent's office phone rang. He snatched it up and answered it. He wrote down some information as he listened to Shalua talk before hanging up with her. He swiveled his chair towards me before standing. "Reno is going to fly us to Icicle Inn. We've been sent on a rescue mission. Someone reported a man disappearing in Great Glacier. A treasure hunter who was in the area claimed to hear faint cries for help. The man who entered the area is described as blond, tan, and wearing odd clothing." He said.

I nodded. "Ok."

He stood up and walked towards me. "Are you comfortable staying another night with me? Depending on how long it takes to find the man, we may be spending the night at Icicle in…" He stood a foot from me looking down at me through his ebony bangs. I nodded again.

He gave a light nod in return and motioned for me to follow him. We left the headquarters, hopped into his car and headed back to Tifa's bar where I was able to gather up some extra clothing and hygiene materials. We then headed back to Vincent's place so he could do the same. After we were both ready to embark on our trip, we met back up at the headquarters with Reno at his very small plane. I secretly hoped this trip would allow Vincent and I to get close again…


	12. The Shy Ones

**Trained By the Trainee**

**The Shy Ones**

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I swallowed hard and kept my head down so my long hair would cover my face. The most embarrassing moment of my life had just happened five minutes ago. Reno's plane was indeed only intended for two people: a pilot in the front and one person in the back. Vincent was the first to get in and then when it was my turn to climb in I hesitated as there was nowhere for me to sit but in Vincent's lap. The impatient ex Turk behind me lifted me and literally threw me on top of Vincent. That wasn't the worst part of the situation… In a futile attempt to keep from falling directly on him, I put my hand out to catch myself. My hand landed squarely between Vincent's legs contacting roughly with his sensitive male parts. His audible response to the accident was a soft grunt, but his physical response was to shove me roughly back out of the plane and flat onto the concrete. I managed to take the fall without any injuries but the embarrassment was nearly enough to kill me. The second time up, Vincent took my hand and helped me into the plane, then wrapped his gold arm around my waist pulling me into his lap where I now sat. Vincent's thick clothing kept this position from being a compromising one. If I closed my eyes and pretended, it wouldn't even feel like I was sitting on anyone's lap at all. Just as I was doing just that, Vincent shifted under me then pulled me back so that I was now lying against him.

Reno turned his head and looked at us. "First time with a woman in your lap?" He laughed loudly and turned back around. I could imagine Vincent was glaring at Reno, but I didn't dare turn my face to see as I wasn't ready to look this man in the eyes just yet. The hand that had come so close to his…unmentionables was still numb. I swallowed hard as the whole incident replayed in my mind.

"So uh…Salami… how lame of a trainer is Vincent?" Reno turned his head to the side so he could see me out of the corner of his eye.

I didn't bother to correct the pronunciation of my name or to answer that question. I'm sure I had already upset Vincent enough, I didn't want to anger him further. I settled with a soft laugh.

"Oh come on… Shalua should have assigned me as your trainer. I'd train you well…" He turned completely around and showed me a grin that I was sure got him his way with many women, but I could see beyond it and into his real intentions.

I didn't know quite how to respond to this. So I looked away.

**∞Reno's POV∞**

I've always been intrigued by the shy ones. Those are the ones you gotta look out for, though. I grinned at the thought what naughtiness this girl was probably hiding under her shy front. The master of hidden emotions behind her seemed to be showing a bit of anger… Hm… Could he be feeling jealous? Am I treading on his territory here. I'd put him to the ultimate test here in a few minutes when we land…

Shit…I forgot how cold it was out here. They didn't allow planes close to the village so we had to walk a thousand miles in the freezing cold. Oh well this was my opportunity to test Mr. Valentine. I walked up close to Simami or whatever her name is. "Cold?" I asked throwing my arm over her shoulders. She must have been pretty cold because she accepted my warmth and even got closer. I rubbed her shoulder and pulled her even closer as we walked. I watched the Mr. Emo closely and thought I saw a minor nostril flare. I couldn't hide my grin. Damn its fun getting under people's skin. The brightest idea ever came to my mind. If I spied on these two out here and I caught Vincent doin anything inappropriate with little Tsunami I could make his life even worse! Or at least do some good bribery work… hehehe…

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

Once we finally arrived at the village. Reno parted ways with Vincent and I as we went to book a room in at the Icicle Inn. They were low on rooms, so Vincent decided to just get one room with two beds. We took our bags to our room and had a quick snack before heading off to search the maze like area of Great Glacier. We walked for a while looking around for footprints and other signs of another presence, but found none for the first twenty minutes. I had on a black sweater that I borrowed from Tifa and a pair of jeans on.

"Keep moving." Vincent said as I slowed up. I tried to keep up with him but my legs were getting so tired and my feet were so cold they were numb. Why am I so weak? I asked myself as I watched Vincent continue on unaffected by the cold by any means. The wind continued to burn my face as we walked further and further. Although pretty soon I started to notice same trees or the same rock here and there. With the wind and the constant snowing, it was impossible to keep track of footprints.

"Vincent…how much longer?" I asked out of desperation. I usually tried not to complain on missions…

He looked over his shoulder at me. "We've only searched barely an hour." He took a few steps towards me.

"It's so cold…" I muttered through chattering teeth. Vincent reached out and grabbed my wrist, yanking me close to him. He wrapped both of his arms around me and rested his hands on my back. He took his right hand and vigorously rubbed it up and down my back. I knew it was to warm me up, but it almost felt like he was going to rub the skin off of my back. I huddled close to him as he continued his awkward way of warming me up. At least he was trying…

"We'll search for another hour then we'll meet up with some of the civilians who have also been searching." He said. His breath on my face was enough to warm my entire body. We finally came across something that looked like a clue. Single footprints that looked almost fresh were heading off in a different direction we hadn't been before. Vincent looked at me. "Can you make it any longer or should we head back?" I looked up at him, surprised. We just found a huge lead on where this person may be and he's actually worried about my well being. I nodded quickly indicating that I could make it. I'd rather find the guy and get this over with than have to come back out here again tomorrow. We followed the tracks for a long time until we heard a voice.

"Auron, I hate you!!! This is the second time I've been dropped off in a world I don't belong in!! I hate you Auron!!"

Auron? So this lost person was from Spira too… Once he finally came in to view he didn't even appear to be cold. I guess being this worked up was enough to keep him warm. Upon hearing us approach he spun around and looked at the two of us.

"Uh…"

"Are you lost?" Vincent asked, his voice monotone.

The blond guy turned around and looked Vincent up and down he then sent a glance at me. "…You could say that…"

"You know Auron." Vincent stated.

"Yeah! Where is he!? I can't wait to just grr…" He raised his fist and punched at the air. I took a step closer to Vincent, scared of what this man's next actions would be.

Vincent pulled out his PHS and contacted Reno. "We've found him." He said hanging up again. "Follow us. You will be taken to the PPRO headquarters. Auron is there. So are two females named Yuna and.."

"Yuna?!" The young man flew into Vincent and grabbed his cloak with both hands and he practically shook Vincent. "Get me to Yuna! I've been trying so hard all this time to find her!"

Vincent surprisingly didn't appear mad. He stared back at the young man and the two looked at each other for a while before Vincent spoke. "Will do." We turned back and eventually found our way back to the village. Vincent pointed me in the direction of the Inn so I could get inside while he walked Tidus off to where Reno parked his plane.

**∞Reno's POV∞**

Mr. Emo and a gayer version of Cloud came walkin up to the plane. Vincent spat out the order to take him to the headquarters as if he were my boss or something. I nodded at the demand, but as soon as he was out of earshot I turned to the blond twerp. Before I could even open up my mouth the kid had the nerve to say, "Come on! I've got to get to Yuna!" He ripped open the door to my plan and tried to get in but I grabbed the hood of his weird looking shirt.

"Not so fast. We've got some spying to do…"

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

As I walked back to the village I thought back to the look I saw in that kid's eyes when he realized the girl he loved was here. The passion in his eyes was so strong… My heart ached to feel that kind of passion again… The warm air inside the Inn felt good as I walked through the door. My trainee was sitting on the couch in the lobby area drinking hot chocolate. I watched her blow at the steaming liquid a few times before attempting to drink. It was now seven o'clock at night, a bit early for bed, but late for any other adventures. I doubted Reno had any intentions of flying the kid to the headquarters, flying back here and back to Midgar again. Therefore, she and I were definitely here for the night…

I ordered a hot chocolate for myself before taking a seat next to her on the maroon colored couch. She sent me a small smile then turned away. Both of our faces were red from the blistering cold winds. She still looked very… cute, I suppose is the word for it. I waited for her to say something to me…anything… I now understood how my, I guess I can call them, friends feel around me. I've never been the one to start a conversation.

"I wonder what tomorrow holds for us…" I said. She looked up at me briefly then down into her drink.

"Mm, I do as well." She said with a soft sigh. She was probably wondering what kind of hell I would put her through next. For the first time in a long time I felt the urge to laugh, but of course I contained it. I truly am becoming in touch with my emotions again. Earlier when I had to watch Reno hold Xilamani, the same feelings that I had felt watching Lucrecia run into Hojo's arms, erupted in my heart. However these were less severe as I know she is smarter than to fall for an idiot like Reno. Wait… why do I care who she falls for? Why would I be jealous? I shifted uncomfortable as a wave of emotion that I had yet to recognize came over me.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

After drinking our hot chocolate, Vincent suggested we go back to our room. Stepping inside the room felt like stepping outside again. It was freezing in here. Vincent walked over to the heater and started messing with the dials. "I think it's malfunctioning."

"Oh." I said sitting down on the bed and bringing my knees up to my chest. Vincent took off his gold boots and unbuckled his cloak. I turned my head as I heard more buckles being undone and clothing being removed. When I dared to look in his direction again I saw he was dressed in loose black pajama pants and a long sleeved black shirt. Had he really changed right here!? I imagined what he might look like without all his clothes…What?! What am I thinking!!? Good thing my face was already red from the harsh cold. My body shook violently with a sudden chill. Vincent walked over to my bed and sat down beside me. He reached up and unraveled his bandana letting it fall to the floor. My body stiffened as I felt his hand come around my waist and pull me close to him.

"Xilamani, you don't have to be afraid of me… I'm not going to hurt you. I do actually want to help you." He murmured to me as he held me close to him. My hands were balled up into fists resting under my chin and against his chest. Was this real? Was he really holding me? Why? I didn't want to believe he was doing it because he liked me, because then I might just fall harder and end up heartbroken. According to Yuffie, Vincent didn't believe in love anymore. He pulled away from me and looked down at me through all of his loose hair. "Are you uncomfortable…around me?"

I looked up at him mesmerized by his gorgeous eyes and handsome face. I unballed my fist and against my own will ran both my hands from his chest to his cheeks. I shook my head no at his question. Vincent leaned forward and placed his lips against mine in such a light kiss, my lips that were numbed from the cold could almost not feel it, thus leaving me wanting more… Vincent grunted as I eased my way into his lap, deepening the kiss all the while. Vincent had to be the one to break the kiss and pull me away from him. "If you tell anyone about this… I _will_ torture you to death." I could see in his eyes that he was very serious, but I smiled him.

"I promise not to tell." The corner of his lips twitched before he kissed me again.

**∞Reno's POV∞**

I snickered as I took the next picture with new high tech camera. Build in x-ray vision fully in action. Vincent Valentine you are in so much trouble right now! Hehehhehe… Oh..ew! That's got to be the palest ass in the world…Come on Valentine… How long has he known her!? Oh that's right…what did I say about those shy ones…


	13. How News Travels Fast

**Trained by the Trainee**

**How News Travels Fast...**

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

I had to of been dreaming… I opened my eyes and looked ahead at the wall in front of me. There were no arms thrown over me or a head on my shoulder so I assumed Vincent had already gotten up and was ready. I then felt something warm against my back; I turned my head to see that Vincent was still there, and still very much asleep. The memories of last night flashed through my mind. I knew it wasn't a dream… I could never dream anything that amazing. I remember the feeling of Vincent's surprisingly soft lips against mine. Those leather gloves he wore must have kept his hands smooth, as I could still feel the softness of his finger tips against my cheeks. He didn't make any other contact with my skin besides that… In fact, I was _still_ wearing my clothes from yesterday because he never gave me a chance to change into my pajamas. After our long kiss, we both landed on the bed where our exhausted bodies shut down together. There weren't many words spoken, and neither of our intentions were clear. I didn't want to expect much from Vincent because I knew he probably wasn't aware of just what he was doing. Ever since we saw Lucrecia at the Shinra manor and she confessed she was Sin, he has been progressively showing a bit more emotion. My guess was that seeing her forced hidden emotions to the surface and he was unsure how to deal with them all. I heard a sigh come from the newly awoken form next to me. My face instantly flushed when I thought of having to face him right now…

He cleared his throat to break the silence. "We should get ready. A plane will be here to get us shortly." With that said he got out of the bed and walked over to the clothes he wore yesterday that were in a pile on the floor. This time he changed in the bathroom. I heard the water running for a while, then he was back out again dressed entirely in his normal clothing. He was buckling his cloak as he walked out of the bathroom. He didn't look at me but sat down in the chair in the corner of the room and turned on the small TV. I went to the bathroom and stared at myself for awhile. I gasped when I saw it…

A small red, almost purple mark on my neck. I tilted my head back and leaned closer to the mirror to get a better look. I definitely didn't walk into this hotel room with it. I moved my long hair over it, then threw a long chunk of it around my neck and over my shoulder like a scarf. I couldn't go anywhere like that, I looked ridiculous… I moved my hair back to its original place and thought of what I should do… It took all the nerve I have inside me, but I called his name.

"Vincent…"

"Yes?" he called back from the chair he remained in.

"Could you come here, please?" I opened the door wider and looked at him. He was still staring blankly at the TV. His eyes flickered to mine for a second. He slowly rose from the chair and walked to me looking everywhere in the room but me. "What should I do…about this?" I asked extending my neck to him and pointing to the mark he obviously had made. His eyes narrowed to slits as he leaned forward to examine it further.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

I blushed. I didn't need to say anything more before Vincent finally got the hint. He let out a sharp sigh and paced around. He was acting as if I had just found out I was pregnant or something… He finally stopped and looked at me. "Do you own make-up?"

"No…" I answered with a shake of my head. He sighed again and looked down at his watch.

"Continue to get ready, I will be back shortly. I believe they carry such feminine supplies at the store on the corner." He turned to walk away.

I took this as a chance to shower quickly and change into my other clothes. I wore another one of Tifa's sweaters; this one was dark green with lighter green trim at the bottom and around the edge of the sleeves. Her sweaters fit me a little bit loose in the front since I was not as blessed as she was, but in this cold weather here, I'd rather be wearing these than the tank tops, and T-shirts that I owned. Vincent barged into the bathroom just as I pulled my pants up. He handed me a bag with a small bottle of foundation make-up. I've really only used make-up during different Wutain ceremonies. As I applied the cover up to the love mark on my neck Vincent stood by and watched. Finally he spoke.

"You won't tell anyone." It was hard to determine by the tone of his voice if it was a question or a statement. When I didn't respond he continued. "Do not even repeat the situation to me, because as far I'm concerned it did not happen." I didn't expect much from Vincent, but I didn't expect this. My heart sunk, heavy with disappointment. I caught sight of his serious face in the mirror. The man I engaged in a kissing session with last night was far, far gone. I wanted to question him. Why? Why even take it that far with me at all? What possessed such behavior? "I'd advise you to forget about it as well."

I spun around to him after I finished applying the cover up. "Why?"

"What else is there to do?" Vincent crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at me with a stone face, completely void of any emotions. I looked away. "I assumed you knew what the morning would bring and expected no more."

I sighed. I didn't expect more, but I didn't expect this _less_. The way he's speaking to me now is almost just as bad as it was when we first met. I could only respond with a nod.

**∞Reno's POV∞**

I laughed to myself in the copy room as I began to decide upon which option I would take in printing these pictures. My high tech camera, with its X-ray capabilities can present these pictures in any way I want. I could even print them showing Vinnie-boy and his little toy naked. I looked at the picture of Vincent sucking face with the dark haired girl. It almost looked like two women with their long black manes. Realistically if I took it that far, Valentine would probably bust a thousand caps in my ass and blow out my brains, so I printed the pictures as they really were with the two clothed. I jumped as I heard a gasp from behind me.

"That's Vinnie and Xila!!" the hyperactive ninja Yuffie whispered loudly…and I do mean loudly. I hushed her.

"Yeah…caught red handed. I'm about to go bribe the hell out of Vincent. Is he back yet?" I asked looking at her. Yuffie was maturing actually. It's been a while since I'd actually looked at the little brat. I never paid her much mind while I was a Turk, but I did remember getting hit in the shin with her stupid boomerang…whatever that weapon was… I shook that off. Past is past. But hey these days she's becoming quite the little _babe._

"Cid went to go get them. He should be back in a half hour though he left a while ago." She took one of the pictures out of my hand and looked at it closely. "Look at that tongue action! Go Vinnie! Didn't think he still had that in him!" Her face suddenly changed.

"Reno…you can't let them get caught…" I never thought I'd see this kind of worried look cross this chick's features.

"Shalua aint gonna fire anyone! Half of the employees are dead; she's got to hang on to whatever she can get. Get this, I showed up drunk the past three days and even hit on her once and she still hasn't fired me." I looked back down at the remaining five pictures in my hands. All of which showed these sneaky bitches in different positions and the last one was of them sleeping together. Vincent was all cuddled up to her like some kind of mangy stray puppy.

"Did you get paid yet? I heard the new policy was you get docked two biweekly paychecks." Now that she said that I did notice my personal mailbox in the mailroom was empty!

"Anyways, that chick's just a trainee she doesn't get the biweekly paycheck yet, so it won't affect her. She'll always get the reward for completing missions. Vincent deserves this, man. He deserves this kind of public embarrassment!"

Yuffie sighed and shook her head at me. "If my cousin gets in trouble, I'll shove my Conformer so far up your ass…" she shook her fist at me as she spoke. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, babe. I'm sure no matter what happens, Vincent will take good care of her." I laughed as I turned away from Yuffie to collect my pictures and turn off the copy machine.

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

Rikku, Auron, a few other PPRO soldiers and I drove out to a huge open field between Midgar and Kalm where the flower planting would soon start. A couple civilians were already tilling the land. Rikku and I finally decided to become official PPRO members and with our first paychecks planned to get an apartment of our own with Auron. It was unrealistic to expect that all of us would continue to crowd Tifa's place if we are going to be here for long. My new PHS device that they gave me was ringing and it took me quite a while to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Yuna! It's me! Tidus!" I almost fell off the motorbike I was riding on. Auron was driving.

"Is that…really you?" I asked. Auron brought the bike to a stop and we all got off.

"Yeah…it's me. I'm here. I'm at the uh…PPRO headquarters. A man named Vincent Valentine said I'd find you here." I smiled. Rikku looked at me.

"Well, actually I'm away, but I'll be back soon. I…I can't wait to see you again." The smile just wouldn't fade from my face. Rikku grinned knowingly.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

The plane ride back to Midgar could not be any longer… I forced myself to keep a conversation going with Cid just so I wouldn't have to pay attention to Xilamani. I cannot lie and say I did not know what I was doing when I kissed her. I only thought she knew what would happen afterwards… I did not want to hurt her feelings, but she should have known nothing more could have come out of this. She needs to be worrying about making money to save her mother. I myself would be very foolish to jeopardize her chances here at PPRO by entering an affair with her. As nice as it would be to have someone in my life again… now wasn't the time.

I collected our reward money for completing the rescue mission and gave my trainee her half. The walk back to my office was another drawn out moment. There was nothing to say to her, and she obviously had nothing to say to me. After sitting in the office for fifteen minutes, there was a knock at the door. Yuffie walked in before I could even respond. She shut the door behind her and looked at us both.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you guys out." She evidently sensed the tense mood in the room, but her barging in wasn't the source of it. What is she talking about…ratting us out…?

"What do you mean, Yuffie?" I asked.

"Reno took pictures of you guys at Icicle Inn. I told him that he better not get you two in trouble, but he wouldn't take me seriously. He said that Shalua's not going to fire anyone and that you deserved the public embarrassment. Hmm… but on a lighter note, Vinnie you looked like a pretty good kisser!" I blinked a few times as I stared at her from my seat at my desk. The words she had just said suddenly registered in my mind.

**∞****Yuna's**** POV****∞**

Around four in the afternoon when we returned to the headquarters, I flew through the lobby area and ran to the elevator to get to the second floor where the members that worked in my section were all located. Surely Tidus would be there with one of them.

I gasped when the elevator doors opened. Vincent stood in there with his gun pressed into Reno's temple. Reno's eyes were squeezed shut as he prepared to die.

"Vincent?" I asked. Vincent's face softened and he turned to me. I looked down at the pictures that were scattered on the elevator floor. My eyes widened when I saw the content of them. Vincent quickly dropped to his knees and picked up all of the pictures stuffing them into a compartment under his cloak. Reno quickly made his escape. I walked into the elevator with Vincent almost afraid to ask what was going on. Vincent pushed the 2 button for us.

"Did you see…"

"Yes." I admitted. I saw the picture with Vincent holding a dark haired girl in his lap, one hand on her rear end and the other was lost in her long black hair. I was far from the pictures so I couldn't see the details of their faces, but they were obviously close enough to be kissing. Had I not known Xilamani was his trainee I wouldn't even have recognized the girl as her.

"Please don't say anything to anyone." He leaned back against the elevator with his arms crossed. He sighed loudly and looked at me waiting for my response.

"I won't…" I smiled at him. "She was the one I was talking about."

He raised an eyebrow illustrating his confusion.

"Remember on the beach in Costa del Sol, I told you that I knew a girl with a crush on you. It was her, but I guess you know that now already…" I smiled. "Oh! I want to thank you for finding Tidus! He is the guy that I mentioned to you that day. I just knew I'd find him here." I turned away from Vincent and continued to smile as the butterflies filled my stomach. The elevator doors opened again and he was the first thing I saw at the end of the hallway talking to Auron.

"Tidus!" I yelled as I broke out into a run towards him. He spun around leaving Auron to talk to the air and ran towards me as well. We met near the middle of the hallway and embraced each other tightly.

"Yuna…" he said squeezing me even tighter. "You've changed." He said looking me up and down. I spun around for him. Today I wore a pair of short jean shorts and a pink tank top that showed a bit of my midriff and a tiny bit of cleavage. The rest of my outfit consisted of all the little gadgets PPRO provided me with, knee high white socks, and a pair of tennis shoes that I had just bought at one of the stores here. Tidus wore the same outfit I last saw him in. My first idea was to take him shopping at one of the stores here and upgrade his fashion sense a bit. But as soon as Tidus kissed my lips, a new first priority came to mind…

**∞****Auron's**** POV∞**

I couldn't help but smile a little at the kid's reunion. This would put an end to that boy's whining for a while… I noticed the dark man standing nearby staring at the couple was not smiling. He held a gun in his right hand and his left arm seemed to pose as another weapon. I approached him and asked.

"Is there a reason your weapons are drawn?"

The man turned to me with a slight bewilderment crossing his features. He eyed me for a while before putting his gun away and crossing his arms.

"Never let your guard down." He spoke as if he held more seniority than I.

"Hmph. A lesson I've learned long before you came to existence." I retorted as I began to walk away.

"Don't be too sure." I heard him mutter. I chose to ignore his comment and continue on down the hall. The next mission this new team would take was obtaining large amounts master materia as they called it. Pilots with instruments used to detect powerful materia were searching the planet for the most powerful summon materia. Once they found it, it was our job to defeat as many native fiends as we could to master the summon materia.


	14. Taking Responsibility

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Taking Responsibility**

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

The next full week was hard for me. Missions with Vincent were awkward, and he made me feel as if I was holding him back from doing bigger things. We were back on mild missions that had hardly anything to do with the major crisis at hand. It was hard being carried around feeling like someone's burden.

As far as any training… I began sneaking off at night by myself, taking the late night taxis which were considered dangerous, to the Headquarters to train in their personal training facilities that Vincent had introduced me to once before. The more I practiced in that virtual reality, the better I was getting in real life. Vincent didn't give me much praise to boost my confidence, but seemed to notice my improvement.

Another letter brought good news from my family. The total amount Yuffie and I had been able to send back to Wutai came to 50,000 gil. Upon seeing my mother's worsened condition, the doctor she had been going to decided to take the money they had now and continue with the examinations. However, whatever disease they would eventually diagnose. The cost of medication would most likely be outrageous as well, so this by no means meant that I could slack off for a while.

Today Vincent and I were rushed off to Edge where a clan of undead bandits was attacking the civilians. It was a dreary, rainy day and the small city appeared to be empty. I walked close to Vincent with my hand on my belt ready to pull out my gun at any moment. Vincent seemed calm as the rain pelted down on him. He hardly blinked as the drops hit his face. My white tank top was now completely see through, but I wore a black tank top underneath. It was a good thing I wore my hair back in a tight bun, or it would be looking a mess by now. Vincent's head turned sharply toward a sound that only his sharp hearing could have heard. I pulled my gun out ready to shoot at anything that moved. Vincent took a step closer to me and I felt his cool metal arm wrap around my waist as he shot into the air and landed on an overpass structure between two tall buildings. Vincent didn't let go immediately as we stood there looking both ways for any signs of danger or even a sign of life. Slowly he released my waist, but only to take my hand. We walked towards the top floor of a building with a door that appeared to be cracked open. Once inside the warehouse Vincent and I froze as we heard a noise.

This time it was Vincent who drew his gun and kicked aside a box that appeared to be hiding someone. He immediately lowered his gun once he saw a young boy huddled behind it shaking with fear.

"Where are your parents?" was the first questions out of his mouth. The little boy uncovered his head and looked up at Vincent. In a split second he stood and flew over to him, clinging to his leg.

"Strange scary men… when they came...we got separated." the kid said.

Vincent pried the boy off of his leg and pushed him towards me. "Hold on to him." He said to me. I nodded and took his little hand in mine. The little boy and I followed Vincent downstairs as we continued to look for the enemy.

From the first floor of the warehouse we walked outside and were on the ground again. The area was shaped like a circle with a structure in the center that had a green tarp hanging from it. Suddenly a group of ten greenish colored, obviously undead men ran out from behind the tarp with sticks in their hands ready to attack. I pulled out my gun to shoot but Vincent quickly ordered me to run down a narrow alleyway with the boy. I did so and watched as he shot down all of the men in a matter of five or six minutes. With a swish of his cape he turned around and walked in our direction. I was a little disappointed that I still hadn't been able to really show my improvement to him, but I knew I would soon have my chance.

"Let's go." He said once he got about four feet from us. Upon hearing all the gunshots, the civilians must have assumed help had arrived so many of the hidden people suddenly appeared including the boy's parents.

"Mommy!" the boy cried out running towards a brunette woman. Everyone was soaked from the rain, but all appeared happy that their hometown was safe again. Vincent and I headed back to his car so we could return to the headquarters.

**∞Shalua's POV∞**

"No…" I said in disbelief looking at the picture in my hand.

"I found it on the floor of the elevator, ma'am." My faithful little pet said with a salute. Joji was a PPRO trainee that had been titled trainee for the past five months and was desperately trying to get promoted. The guy was always ratting other people out he even got a secretary fired because she allegedly spent her days sleeping with all of the soldiers instead of issuing missions like she was supposed to be doing. Anyways, this was the deepest form of gossip I'd ever come across. But this was no rumor! Not even the finest technology could manipulate a photo like this. Vincent Valentine was lying back against the headboard of a hotel bed with no other than little Miss Xilamani sitting on him. Her head was turned slightly to the side with a look of nothing less than hunger on her face as she kissed the dark man. Vincent's eyes were opened and he looked a bit worried. I couldn't imagine Vincent coming on to her and from the picture it didn't look like he had. I'd never fire Vincent Valentine anyways. I may threaten him, but PPRO would be much less of an organization without the mighty Valentine on our side. But what will I do with the trainee…

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

When we got to the headquarters I was immediately approached by a young man. "Shalua would like to speak with you in her office." He then smirked and looked up at Vincent. He waved me off as if to give me permission to leave and walked away paying no mind to the young man.

The young man was dressed in normal clothes so I knew he wasn't a soldier here, but he couldn't have been part of our team as I've never seen him before. The members of section two weren't considered soldiers so we didn't have to wear the normal PPRO uniform. The members of AVALANCHE and the others like Vincent started out doing volunteer work for the organization then just became members but never established a soldier status. He had sandy brown hair and green eyes. If he wasn't giving me such an ignorant look, he may have been attractive. I then began to wonder why he was acting so weird… and what did Shalua want to talk to me about? My stomach dropped as I began to worry. Those pictures Yuffie mentioned…

Walking into Shalua's office felt like I was about to walk off a cliff. She didn't smile at me like she normally would so I knew I was in trouble. As soon as I sat down, there it was. She placed a picture of Vincent and me on that night at Icicle Inn. She _had_ to see this one! It looked like it was _all_ me! My face twisted in an expression of my frustration but before I could speak Shalua spoke.

"Can you explain this to me?" she asked. "And make it good. I really don't want to have to fire you."

I swallowed hard. "It…it wasn't just me."

Shalua was on the phone in a second calling Vincent's office. "Vincent get to my office, now." She didn't even give him a change to say hello or anything.

Within about five minute, Vincent walked in the room looking not one bit phased by anything. He didn't even cringe when he saw the picture on her desk. He only sighed.

"You want to explain this to me? From the picture, I thought little Miss Innocent had come onto you, but she says otherwise." She said pushing the picture close to Vincent. He turned to me with a look of obvious betrayal. I looked away hiding behind a chunk of my damp hair. The room smelled like musty rain water from Vincent and I.

"I have nothing to say about it." Vincent said in a rough tone that left no room for argument. Shalua didn't seem to be intimidated.

"Well, what do you think I should do? You guys just put me into a sticky situation here. We can't have trainers and trainees shacking up together on missions. I should fire you both and be done with it all. Especially you Xilamani. You were given this job as an opportunity to save your mother. How would your mother feel if she saw you throwing it all away for some scandalous affair?"

Those words struck a chord and the tears began to fall. I wiped them away and looked up at Shalua. "I'm sorry."

She sighed loudly. "Well, I'll cut you a break. You've got a two week suspension. Vincent take her home." With that said she turned away from us back to her computer. I followed Vincent all the way back outside to his car. He looked unhappy and as soon as we took off in his car he turned to me.

"How come you couldn't have left me out of it?" He asked looking at me. I couldn't look at him. At this point I was officially angry with him. Why would I have just left him out of it? Obviously not sensing that his attitude was angering me he continued.

"I have a reputation to maintain."

I turned sharply towards him. "…and I have a family to take care of!"

He raised his eyebrows slightly surprised that the meek little girl in front of him had just yelled at him. He relaxed against his seat and paid attention to the road as he took me back to Tifa's. I got out jumped out of his car not even a second after it stopped and stormed towards the house. Vincent surprisingly followed me inside, catching the door before I could slam it in his face.

Once inside I felt a leather hand grab my wrist, spinning me back into him. "Xilamani, I was wrong, ok? We were both wrong that night. We should both take responsibility for our actions… You were right to tell Shalua the truth. It wasn't just you."

I calmed down a little bit only to start crying softly. "What am I going to do for two weeks? That's a lot of money that I won't make…"

I felt his metal hand rest on my shoulder and his leather clad hand rose to my other shoulder. "I'll still give you your half." He muttered. I looked up at him, completely shocked, but then I saw it again. I saw that same gentle man that was with me on the bed in Icicle Inn. Could this possibly be the _real _Vincent? His crimson eyes darted back and forth between mine. The expression on his face was soft. His cloak was pushed down a bit so I could see his lips that weren't in that tight frown. "Remember what I said that night? I _do_ actually want to help you. I want to see you succeed. So don't let _me_ get in your way." He bent down and got close to my ear. "Because as strong as I seem… I do have my weaknesses…" When he pulled away it almost seemed as if he had to force it. Having him that close to me made me want to pull him back in again, but I couldn't. This was my last to prove I could succeed at PPRO. One more mishap with Vincent and Shalua would surely get rid of me and I would have to face the disappointment of my family.

"I should go before the others get here and start making assumptions." He said turning towards the door. I nodded.

"Thank you." I said in a voice just above a whisper. The corner of his mouth twitched in response then he was gone. After he left my heart felt like it was just weighed down. It was as if we were breaking up, but we were never together. If it wasn't enough that I was hating not being able to have what I wanted, I turned the corner and saw Tidus and Yuna cuddled up by the bar sharing a drink. I sighed and went up to Yuffie's and my room to write to my parents.

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

"Who told Shalua?" I demanded pushing my gun painfully against Reno's head.

"I..I don't know man! For real! I swear I didn't tell her!" his eyes were squeezed shut and he raised his hands in defeat. I lowered my gun, but quickly brought my left hand to his throat in a painful grip that surely pierced his skin.

"You had better find out." I released him and walked away peering at everyone I passed suspiciously knowing the guilty party would succumb to this look. Whoever it was… They'll be sorry.

But on the brighter side of things… These two weeks would allow me to get some real work done.


	15. Searching

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Searching**

**∞Vincent's POV∞**

I'd never been fond of riding chocobos, but in order to get to my destination, it was necessary. Today my mission was to search a materia cave for just about any powerful materia I could find. We needed to find it quick so we would have plenty of time to master them before Sin could do too much more damage. The past few weeks brought no Sin but it…or should I say she… was still around.

I got off the chocobo and tied it to a post nearby before walking into the cave. These types of caves always had strong fiends inside so I had already braced myself. The further I got into the cave the darker it became. I looked back at the entrance that was just a little speck of light in the distance. However, ahead I could see a glow of green light. The close I got to the glowing light the more I realized it was the pyreflies again…

I watched as they swirled around into a shape of a woman. All of a sudden there she was in front of me again. "Lucrecia…"

"Vincent… I cannot keep this form for long so please listen as I say this." She sighed and looked around as if collecting her thoughts for a moment before she spoke again. "The weapon seller... He knows a story of a man who owned twenty master materia. The Turks hunted him down years ago in search of his materia. Unwilling to let them have it, but knowing he would be caught. He buried the materia deep in the grounds of the sleeping forest. Talk to the man at the weapon shop he will tell you more." She said as her body began to fade.

"Lucrecia!" I said stepping towards her.

"Please put an end to this… I'm so tired Vincent, I just want to rest…" she faded away and the pyreflies floated up to the ceiling of the cave and disappeared. Without the green glow I found myself in complete darkness. The snarling of a fiend could be heard nearby. Instead of fighting it, I turned and ran towards the way out.

**∞Xilamani's POV∞**

Three days passed since I was suspended. Vincent promised me he'd bring me my half anyways, but I hadn't seen him once. He didn't exactly say when or how he'd give it to me so I didn't jump to any conclusions of him breaking his promise. The house was very quiet. It was around three in the evening and Marlene and Denzel had yet to come home from school. The bus usually didn't get them here until around three thirty. I tidied up the house and bar until the place was completely spotless. I was so into vacuuming I could barely hear the knock at the door. I shut off the loud machine and ran to the door. Vincent stood there staring straight at me.

"Uh…hi." I said feeling as awkward as ever. Vincent only blinked at my greeting before reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small envelope.

"Your share." He said handing the envelope to me.

"Thank you. Vincent this means a lot to me." I said bowing my head to him gratefully. When I rose and met his eyes again he shook his head.

"It was as much my fault as yours that you are suspended. This is the least I could do." He paused for a moment while looking around the house behind me.

"Are the others back yet?"

"No." I answered. "They may not return until much later." I wasn't given any details on their mission but I knew they had flown out somewhere.

Vincent sighed. "May I come in?" he asked taking a step towards me.

I quickly stepped out of his way and he walked past me into the house. "The children?" he turned and looked at me over his shoulder as he was about to turn the corner into the bar.

"They'll be here in a half hour." I said shutting the front door and following him into the bar watching as he helped himself to Tifa's liquor. He mixed himself an interesting looking drink and sat at the bar to drink it quietly. The more I looked at him the more I noticed something seemed to be troubling him.

"Has something happened?" I asked taking the stool three down from his.

"I saw her again yesterday." He said with a sigh. I didn't need to ask who _her_ was.

"Oh." I said looking down at the table. Vincent made a disgusted face after he took a long drink of his liquor. "Are you ok?"

He signed and shrugged his heavy shoulders. "I just need to clear my mind… there is so much that needs to be done."

I was surprised at how very honest he was being. Normally, even if something was bothering him he didn't willingly share it with anyone. I nodded at his comment.

"If there is anything I can do…" I said softly scooting off the stool I sat at and taking the one directly next to his. He didn't look up at me or anything but just sighed as he shook his head no. I then heard the door again and barely turned the corner as Denzel and Marlene barged into the house.

"You're it!" Marlene said tagging Denzel and taking out running into the bar. Denzel threw his bag down in the middle of the floor and chased after the giggling little girl. She ran into the bar and hid under Vincent's cloak. He didn't even acknowledge the little girl as she covered herself with the tattered red fabric. He continued to brood as he drank.

It wasn't until later that I realized what a bad combination brooding and drinking was…

**∞∞**

A few hours later after the children had been fed and settled down in their rooms where they supposedly were doing homework, I noticed Vincent was still seated at the bar. Except now he was resting on it with his head down on his right arm. His golden left arm hung absentmindedly by his side.

"Vincent?" I asked taking a few steps toward his motionless form. He didn't move or make any attempt to respond to me. I blinked a few times as I hovered over him. I tightly tapped his shoulder.

"Vincent." I said a little louder. He made what sounded like a growling noise but I took it as him groaning. "Are you ok?"

He groaned some more and buried his face deeper into his arm. I hadn't really been paying much attention to how much he drank, but I didn't think Vincent was the type to drink to get drunk. Is that what he meant by clearing his mind?

"Vincent… I think you've drank too much. Would you like me to call a taxi to get you home before the others arrive?" I imagined he didn't want to be seen like this in front of anyone.

He lifted his head from his arms a little too quickly and almost fell back off the stool. I reached out to catch him, but he never fell.

"What time is it?" he asked in a groggy voice. His eyes were blood shot. With his crimson irises on top of that, he looked kind of scary. There was a red mark across his forehead and his lips were red from the drink.

"It's only a little after six." I said trying not to stare at him. He clumsily got off the barstool and walked to the doorway. I quickly went after him.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Home." He hiccupped.

"You can't drive like that." I put a hand on my hip and tried my best to look stern. He turned and stared at me for a while.

"Xila…" he began, but then his eyes fluttered shut a few times and he swayed to the side almost falling over before his eyes snapped open again and he caught himself. Knowing he wasn't far from passing out, I took his right hand and lead him over to the couch. All it took was a slight push and he fell on the couch completely dead to the world.

I sat in the chair nearby watching him to make sure he was ok. Within the next couple of hours there was noise at the door again.

"Woo hoo check this out!" Yuffie skipped into the living room carrying a shiny silver materia. "Uh…" she looked down at Vincent.

"What happened to him?" she asked leaning forward and poking his forehead with her index finger. "Hey! Vinnie? Ya there?" she shook his shoulder, but he didn't respond.

"I think he drank too much…" I said looking down at his seemingly lifeless form.

"Wow! He must have drank like all the liquor in Tifa's bar cause I've seen him drunk before and he really wasn't much different than he is sober." She said putting her hand on her hip. "Did he tell you what was up?"

"He said something about seeing Lucrecia." I said looking up at Yuffie. Her attention shifted back to her materia.

"Oh I'm gonna have so much fun mastering this! Hey hey! Today Tidus, the new guy thinks we should find a way to Spira. Wouldn't it be so cool to explore a new world!?" she jumped up and spun around.

I smiled and laughed softly. "It seems as if I've already explored a new world…" I said with a sigh thinking of all that has happened since I left Wutai.

"Well then, it will be like twice the excitement for you!" she looked down at Vincent again. "…and maybe he _needs_ a little vacation."

The smile slowly faded from my face as I looked down at him. Cloud and Tifa walked into the room with the same reaction as Yuffie. They'd seen him drunk before, but never like this. Cloud lifted him onto his bike and took him home. All I could do was hope for the best for him as I waited around the house for the rest of my suspension.

∞∞

My alarm went off and the sound instantly reminded me that today was my first day back at work. I had no word of where we were going so I didn't know whether to dress warm or dress light so I wore Yuffie's thin, but long sleeved yellow shirt. It wasn't Yuffie's anymore since she gave it to me after I got it muddy during Vincent and my trip to Nibelheim. Over my suspension I found out a way to remove the dirt stains and it looked as good as new. I wore my jean capris with it and threw my hair back into a bun.

I jogged into the bar upon hearing the phone ring. "Hello?"

"Are you ready?" came the familiar voice.

"Yes." I nodded with a smile. He hung up on me like usual, but didn't stop smiling. I was just happy to have everything back to normal. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and Vincent and I were on our way to the Headquarters. Once we got there the very first person I saw was Shalua. I tried to avoid her glance, but I couldn't. I merely shown a thin smile her way and she sent a nod back. Vincent was oblivious to her presence as we walked past her. He took me down a new path and we entered a room full of odds and ends. He grabbed two shovels and handed one to me.

"Um…"

"We're digging." He said simply. He looked around the room then down at me. He showed me a tiny, rare smile. As soon as I was about to ask where we would be digging, he spoke again. "The Sleeping Forest."

"Can you read minds?" I asked looking up at him very seriously. It wouldn't surprise me if he could. I still found everything about him to be amazing.

"Maybe." He said with that small smile on his face. I smiled back.

"You seem to be in a very good mood today. May I ask why?" I asked as we left the room with our shovels and walked out to the plane station. Reno was there leaned up against his small helicopter. Instead of grinning he looked a bit worried.

He shrugged. "Maybe I'm glad to have my partner back."

I grinned and completely forgot I was holding a shovel as I nearly tripped over it and eventually dropped it.

"…or maybe not…" he said as he bent down to pick up the shovel for me. He put the handle back in my hand and we continued on. Reno tied the shovels to the bottom of his helicopter and helped us into the back without a single word. I climbed comfortably into Vincent's lap and leaned back against him. This time it was much less traumatizing. Vincent wrapped his arm around me to keep me from sliding all over his lap as Reno took off.

"Have you nothing to say?" Vincent said in a harsh tone. I assumed he was speaking to Reno.

"Uh…nah…" Reno scratched his head nervously and continued to focus his attention on driving the helicopter. He looked at Vincent through a mirror above him and swallowed hard. "I…uh I mean. Sorry…uh… you girl…what's your name?"

"Xilamani." Vincent answered sharply.

"I'm sorry, Xilamani." Reno said looking at me through the mirror.

I lowered my head and looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed. "It's ok."

"Hmph." Vincent replied. The rest of the trip was completely silent.

**∞Yuna's POV∞**

"Cool they have chocobos here too!?" Tidus asked excitedly pointing to the fenced in chocobos as we approached the Chocobo Ranch. We were here because this was where I first arrive when I came to this planet. So here should be where we could get back to Spira. From the commsphere Paine kept me updated with the situation in Spira and it was worsening each day. Sephiroth had entered the Calm Lands and was continuing forward to Mt Gagazet with an unknown man. Everyone was worried that this man could be offering to become Sephiroth's final aeon. Normally a fayth would not grant this aeon to anyone unless they were to use it for good, but that Hojo man was controlling them. How he was doing this was beyond me. Auron seemed to have clues, but he didn't know for sure. He saw the man in the Farplane but he never could figure out what he was doing. We roamed the open grasslands for a while before I spotted something black in the clear blue sky. It was nothing more than a tiny speck, but it was definitely black and I remembered the portal I jumped into in Spira was also like a black hole.

"There." I said pointing at it. "That's our way back."

"Alright!" Tidus said clenching his fist as a sign of victory.


	16. Like a Virgin

**Trained by the Trainee**

**Like a Virgin**

**∞****Xilamani's POV****∞**

The Sleeping Forest was a calm, quiet place. There were relatively no fiends here. At least none that would attack, which relieved me because I was not exactly up to fighting today. I followed close behind the tall cloaked man in front of me as he read a wrinkled up piece of paper that I assumed was the map.

"…somewhere around here." Vincent muttered slamming the head of his shovel into the ground. I stood across from him and began digging in the same spot. Vincent made the job look so easy but I found the ground to be quite tough. I grunted softly trying harder to shovel more than cups of dirt at a time. After a while I had to pause.

"How deep do you think he'd bury them?" I asked the concentrated man in front of me. His eyebrows were furrowed as he focused on digging. He stopped and sighed.

"Who knows? Start there." He said pointing at an untouched spot. I nodded as I started to dig into the ground with my shovel. My arms began to ache and I had to stop again. Vincent sent me a sideways glance and raised his eyebrow at me.

"What?" I asked through my heavy panting. He shook his head and I thought I could see a tiny smirk on his face as he looked away. He wore his normal clothing today, but in his bent position I could see his whole face besides what chunks of his hair covered. Every once in a while he'd toss his head back sending the locks out of his face. I watched him for a while until he looked up at me again.

"How long do you plan on watching me do all the work? Get digging." He demanded running his gloved hand across the bridge of his nose before continuing to dig. I sighed loudly and started up again.

Suddenly I saw something bright pink under the dirt. I scooped another shovel full of dirt and sighed loudly when I realized it was only a toy. I picked it up and threw it aside angrily. I stabbed my shovel into the dirt and leaned on it like a crutch. I stood upright again and dug into my bag for my bottle of water. I took a drink was about to put it back when a black, leather hand came out of nowhere and snatched the bottle from me. Vincent downed the rest of my water and tossed the bottle at me.

"You're welcome." I muttered putting the empty bottle back into my bag.

"Hmph." He said moving over to my spot where I was supposed to be digging. He started there and within a few more shovels he came upon a light green ball. He bent down and picked it up.

"It's just a restore…" he muttered.

"Is it mastered?"

He used it on me without any warning and the surge of healing power knocked me to the ground it was so powerful.

"Seems so…" he held his hand out to me. I frowned up at him as I took it and pulled myself up feeling a bit dizzy. He put the materia in my bag and continued to dig in that same spot. It was quite a few minutes before he came upon another.

"Uh!" I uttered as he held the ball in the air.

"I'm not going to test it on you." He said smirking. I smiled shyly at him as he stared at me with that cute smirk on his face. I tried to push all of those unprofessional thoughts out of my head but they kept resurfacing. I wanted those lips against mine again… To feel his soft hand caressing my face. I closed my eyes tightly as to not let any of these emotions be read from them.

**∞****Vincent****'****s POV****∞**

Another sin wouldn't be so bad would it? Just one more… It'll be worth it. Why is she so… I cannot think of another word to describe her but…cute. If suspension is all Shalua would bestow upon her, we could handle that… We would just have to me a little more careful. The girl began digging again and I could not stop my thoughts from travelling off into the dark places as I heard her soft grunting. It's been a while since my thoughts have gone into such a place. I bit my lip trying not to smile as I thought of what it would be like to _have_ a woman again. The unfamiliar, but quite pleasant feeling of arousal came over me and I knew there would be no stopping my next sin.

**∞****Xilamani****'****s POV****∞**

After another hour we ended up finding eight of the twenty piece of mastered materia that were supposed to be here. Not all of it was summon materia, but nonetheless each piece would be helpful. I convinced Vincent to take a break and we both sat with our backs against a tree on opposite sides staring up at the sky.

"Do you think Sin will actually be defeated? Yuna made it sound so powerful…" I said trying to break the silence before my stomach started making hunger noises. I forgot to put extra snacks in my bag!

I scooted myself around the tree so I was seated next to him. "I don't know." He looked down at me for a while before looking up again.

I laughed softly. "You never seem to know what's going on."

He looked down at me again with a frown. "Are you calling me clueless?" When I hesitated to answer he raised an eyebrow. I smiled at him and before I realized what I was doing I was leaning against him with my head on his shoulder. He laid his head against mine.

"I think we're alone now." He whispered after a while. My head shot up and off his shoulder and I looked up at him with wide eyes.

He reached out and touched my face with his gloved hand. Both of my hands reached up and took his. I gently pulled off his glove and intertwined my fingers with his. He had such a soft hand for a male. He looked all around the area through narrowed eyes then turned to me again. I looked away. Could it really be about to happen again? But I shouldn't… He even said we couldn't!

"Look at me." He whispered seductively. I turned my head just in time to catch his lips as they fell upon mine. He devoured my bottom lip before finding his way inside my mouth with his warm tongue. I pulled back and stared at him.

"Vincent, but we said we wouldn't…"

He attacked my mouth again this time crawling on top of me as I fell to the ground beside the tree. His cloak served as a blanket over our bodies. It seemed to wrap around us protectively. I felt his smooth touch on my face and instantly forgot about trying to remind him why we couldn't be doing this.

"No matter what happens, Xila I'll make sure you and your family are taken care of. But in the mean time… I don't even want to try to pretend like I can resist you." He looked down at me with a soft expression on his sharp features. "I told you I was weak."

I sighed softly. It was hard for me to breathe with him this close to me. Suddenly Vincent pushed himself off of me and held his pale hand out to me I took it and he pulled me towards a lake in the distance. It looked so beautiful and the water was actually clear. I wondered why it was like that, there was no stream around it.

"This place is close to the City of the Ancients… They keep the water clear."

I looked up at him and he glanced down at me. With a swishing movement his cloak was on the ground and he pushed me into the water falling in behind me. I gasped for air when I finally surfaced again.

"Vincent!"

"Shh!!" he said grabbing my face with his bony fingers. He pulled my face to his and kissed me roughly. I screamed in his mouth as I felt something tickle my foot. I looked down and saw bright blue fish swimming beneath us.

"They aren't going to hurt you." He said wrapping his claw around my waist and pulling me to him. "Nothing's going to hurt you as long as I'm here."

"Vincent… are you being for real? Tell me that tomorrow you won't try to forget this all happened." I said looking at him very seriously. He sighed and had to avert his gaze from my eyes. This hesitation made my heart sink. I looked down into the clear water. His grip tightened around my waist and pulled me close to his body where I thought I could feel something awkward about him but I decided that it was just all the belts on his pants or something…

"I will never forget anything, but you know we must pretend. I have a reputation for being a serious professional and you have your family to think about. What Shalua said got to you that day… I could tell. I don't want you to have to face your family after being fired for getting into a scandalous affair… But I…" he pressed his lips against my ears as he breathed the words. "I want you so bad."

My body shook with a tremor after hearing those words. Vincent then moved his lips from the side of my head, down my cheek and to my lips again.

"Are you sure no one can see us?" I whispered when I felt him finger his way up my shirt.

He pushed me towards a cave like entrance and dunked me under the water. We resurfaced under a sheltered area. I covered my mouth to muffle a scream when I saw a huge spider on the rock that formed the roof of this place. Vincent slammed his golden claw instantly squashing the menace and proceeded to kiss me again. He was such an aggressive kisser it was almost like he wanted to swallow me whole. I gasped when I heard a ripping noise.

"Sorry." Vincent said. I noticed he ripped my shirt accidently with his sharp digits. I gave him a wide eyed look. "Sorry." He repeated. "Take it off yourself." He demanded then the words he had just said clicked in his mind and he blushed right in front of me. "I mean…"

I looked down realizing where he was taking this. "Vincent I don't think we should…"

Vincent put his gold finger to my lips. I could read his desire in the darkness of his eyes, but I couldn't let this be a onetime thing and then go weeks barely even talking to the guy. I'm not as strong as he is in hiding my emotions in public.

He unbuttoned his black shirt and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Hold on to that." Next he removed his pants and I assumed his underwear. He put the clothes in my hand under water and ordered me not to let go of them. I noticed all of his electronic stuff was still attached.

"Your…"

"It's all waterproof." He answered gripping the waist band of my pants.

"Vincent." I protested, but he pulled them down anyways but left them on below my knees. He kissed me again as he slowly slid his human hand down my side and before I knew it he was touching me…there… I moaned softly and couldn't stop myself from grinding my hips towards his smooth working fingers. He gripped my hip with his metal hand as if preventing me from moving. I moaned softly as he continued to touch me.

"You cannot tell anyone. Not even Yuffie. I know you told Yuffie about the night in Icicle Inn." He said completely stopping what he was doing and looking at me seriously.

I nodded quickly hoping he'd get back to what he was doing. However he surprised me by replacing his fingers with something a bit bigger. My eyes watered and a tear dripped down my cheek as I felt him rip through the barrier that had yet to be broken. Vincent's eyes widened once he realized what he had done.

"Are you alright?" he whispered moving deeper inside me very very slowly. I nodded even though I was in pain and he was only making it worse each time he moved inside me. I squeezed my eyes shut so this was how it felt? I couldn't actually say I enjoyed it, but Vincent seemed to be and that made it ok. He tried his hardest to be as gentle as he could but I could tell he just wanted to slam my body against the rock behind us and take me as rough as he could. I clutched his pants tightly in my hands as I felt him start to speed up which hurt me more.

"Almost over." He murmured softly to me as he tried to slow his pace a little.

My eyes widened again when I felt a warm liquid pour out of him inside me. "Vincent!" I exclaimed.

"I'm incapable of reproducing, Xilamani. I'm positive of it." He looked me in the eyes and kissed me once again. "I didn't know you were…"

"It's ok. As long as you don't try to forget this happened, I won't regret giving it to you." I smiled at him and he smiled back with the biggest smile I'd seen from him so far although it still showed no teeth. His smile was mostly in his eyes.

He cleared his throat and tried to sound professional as he said. "Let's head back to the headquarters. Mission complete."

I laughed softly. "Mission?"

He winked at me.

∞∞

Vincent and I walked into the headquarters both a little damp from our "mission." Vincent grabbed our reward money and exchanged it for the mastered materia we found. The next step in defeating Sin was mastering the materia the other members had found on their missions.

When I got back to Tifa's bar that night I noticed everyone seemed to be staring at me strangely. Once inside our room Yuffie turned to me.

"You had sex with Vincent."

"What?! N..no…I…" My blush betrayed me. How could she know!?

"You're glowing like a freakin firefly!" I shushed her and she quickly quieted down and whispered back. "So what was it like? Is he good?"

"It hurt so bad…" I was still a bit sore from the encounter.

Yuffie squealed. "I should have warned you."

"What!?" As far as I knew Yuffie was still a virgin too.

"Reno got me in the janitor's closet two days ago."

"What?!" I exclaimed. She shushed me and we spent the rest of the night lying on our beds across from each other describing our first times to each other.


	17. New Partnerships

**Trained By the Trainee**

**New Partnerships**

∞**Xilamani's POV∞**

Facing Vincent today was going to be especially hard. I was blushing now and I hadn't even made it to his office yet. When he called for me this morning, I couldn't even answer the phone but had Yuffie talk to him and tell him that I would be riding with her and Tifa to work today. I took very slow steps down the hall to his office.

I stood in front of the door for a few minutes trying to compose myself.

"Come in." A deep voice said from within the office. I hadn't even knocked yet or anything. I blushed harder at the fact he knew I had been standing there. I entered slowly with my head down, hair hanging in front of my red face.

Vincent cleared his throat before surprising me with a humorous comment. "Was I _that_ bad?"

My head shot up and I looked him in the eye unable to believe a comment like that came from the serious man in front of me. He smiled at me, though I could only see it in his eyes, and stood up. I turned to close the door and when I turned around again Vincent stood inches before me.

"Uh…" I couldn't think of a single word that would be appropriate to say to him. He leaned into me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I have bad news for you." He said turning away and walking to his desk. My heart dropped and the first thing that came to mind was that someone had found out about yesterday, but then I noticed he didn't seem upset so it couldn't have been anything that bad.

"What it is?" I asked softly.

"You've been assigned a new trainer. Well…trainer_s_." He said swiveling his chair towards me as I sat upon the file cabinet.

"Oh…" At this point, that was almost good news. There was no way I'd be able to function around him anymore. It occurred to me that maybe this whole time my fumbling clumsiness what because of him. His presence had always intimidated me so much.

"So…you may want to head down the hall to Tifa's office." With that said he stood up and walked over to the door. Before he could open it for me I quickly ran to him and put my hand on the doorknob.

"But what about… will you… will I ever…" the words just wouldn't come out right for me. I wanted to ask him if we would continue to see each other. After giving myself to him yesterday, the last thing I want to happen is we separate and don't see each other again.

Vincent must have read my mind because he smiled before placing a quick kiss on my lips. "I'll keep in touch with you as frequently as I can."

"Ok…" I smiled up at him as he gently brushed his gloveless soft hand against my cheek and into my hair.

"Don't keep your new trainers waiting, I hear they are quite impatient." He opened the door for me and lead me outside. He surprisingly walked with me to Tifa's office and told them to take good care of me. They both smiled at him knowingly.

∞**Vincent's POV∞**

Xilamani was in better hands now… I thought walking towards the elevator. My newest mission was with Cid and Barret to the Gold Saucer where a fiend has shut down the place. According to its description, Yuna identified this fiend as a dark Aeon called…Yojimbo. It didn't sound like much of a threat, but it had already injured a handful of our remaining PPRO soldiers. With no room to lose any more people, Shalua saw to it that a stronger group would take care of it.

Cid and Barret were unusually quiet on the Shera both merely communicating through the glances they shot each other. I knew exactly what they were thinking so I put their minds at ease.

"What you hear is true, but you had better keep it to yourselves." I said looking at the both of them. Cid's cigarette slipped from his mouth and hit the floor.

"Huh?" was Barret's only comment.

I said no more and for a while, my companions remained silent until Cid spoke again.

"Hell, it's about time." Cid said stomping out his cigarette on the floor only to light up a new one. How he managed to drive this thing with such minimal attention to it was beyond me.

"Hwahahaha! Way to go, Vince! I knew you had it in you!" Barret's voice boomed as he shook my shoulder roughly with his big, hands. I managed to keep my posture nonetheless.

We arrived in Gold Saucer in the late afternoon. The place seemed fairly quiet, yet there were some guest that seemed determined to have their fun regardless of the dangers in the area. The others and I decided to split up and contacted one another on the PHS as soon as we spotted the creature.

I spotted the colorful fiend along with its assumed pet under a tent looking as if it were a part of a show. Once I stepped within a five foot range of it, the dog suddenly ran at me and gave me a powerful kick with its hind legs. I back handed the creature hard enough to send it flying back into its owner.

∞**Xilamani's POV∞**

Having no knowledge about guns themselves, Yuffie and Tifa first took me to the basement and introduced me to a new weapon.

"What is it?" I asked holding the silver stick in my hand. The ends of it were black with decorations on them.

"It's a magic rod, but you can whack fiends with it too and it'll do some damage." Yuffie said adding some materia to the small empty holes down the side of the rod.

I already felt extremely more comfortable with the rod than I did a gun.

"Aerith's weapon was a rod." Tifa said sadly.

Yuffie had told me the sad story of Aerith's death. I looked down at the weapon then smiled back at the two of them. "Hopefully I can use it as skillfully as she did."

"Right!" Yuffie said. "So let's go!"

Our mission was right here in the research department of the headquarters. Of course the people down there did not listen to Yuna when she mentioned when a number of pyreflies come together they can merge to form a fiend. Many of the foreign fiends were captured and during the experiments, died in the research department therefore allowing many pyreflies to gather.

"Whoa this place is a wreck!" Yuffie said as soon as we walked into the white room. Green liquid from the tanks was spilled out on the floors and on the walls. Most of the fiends were small and relatively easy to defeat especially with the powerful materia we found. The very first spell I casted with the rod was Gravity and after cutting down the fiend's lives by half, Yuffie and Tifa had no problem killing them off with physical damage.

After that quick mission the three of us returned to Tifa's place and Yuffie and I helped Tifa run the bar for the rest of the day. I learned this to be their normal routine if they didn't have any out of town missions. Tifa would usually even request only getting short assignments so that she'd have the rest of the day to run her bar. As much as I liked being around Vincent, I found this new arrangement much easier on me.

Hours later the girls and I heard people coming through the door. Cid's snickering and Barret's chuckling could be heard, but Vincent was the first one around the corner into the bar looking annoyed until his eyes rested upon me. Everyone in the room was looking at him as he walked over to me.

He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it into my hand. I looked down and realized it was a cell phone. I tried to keep it hidden in case he didn't want the rest of the room knowing.

"…already whipped…" I heard Cid mutter to Barret. Vincent turned around and shot them both a glare. He looked back down at me.

"It's on my plan so you don't have to pay for anything." He said.

I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Vincent." He was too busy sending glares to anyone who dared snicker at him for buying me this.

"Oh come on, Vinnie, you know your secret is safe with us!" Yuffie yelled loudly. "Obviously you're not very sneaky."

Vincent's glare softened and he looked back at me. "I'll call you." He gave me a polite kiss and quickly left the bar. Everyone was 'awing' and clapping. Cloud walked in a bit late and looked around.

"What's going on?" he asked looking at Tifa. She shook her head and sighed.


	18. Romance All Around

**Trained By the Trainee**

**Romance All Around**

∞**Vincent's POV∞**

I sighed and crossed my arms, leaning against the wall outside of Shalua's office. For having called me down here for some urgent updates, she was no hurry to deliver them. I lifted my head slightly as my ears caught the sound of girlish giggling. I turned around and peered through the tiny open space between the blinds on the window of her door. I narrowed my eyes at I caught sight of her flirtatiously placing her hands on the shoulders of none other than the new comer Auron. He carried himself like a man who'd been on his planet for too long carrying too many memories. Much like yours truly. For him to get involved with someone so quickly was unusual. I nodded to myself realizing I'd too done the same thing. I hadn't known Xilamani for what a couple of months? I was sure it'd take years to get comfortable with a woman again.

It'd been two weeks since I'd given her the cell phone and I'd only made one call. She assured me she was doing well with her new trainers and I made an empty promise that I'd stop by for dinner one night. I didn't intend for the promise to be untrue, but every time I would ride by Tifa's bar, the place was full. I appreciate having friends, but it's either their company or Xilamani's. I can't handle both at the same time.

Finally Auron emerged from Shalua's office. He lowered his face into his cloak much like I do when I'm hiding a smile. I didn't feel we were on good enough terms for me to say anything to him, so I waited until he'd gotten a ways down the hall before entering Shalua's office. I'd let her have it.

"Have the policies changed?" I asked her stepping into her office. The air was rather warm in here. She seemed to be trying to cover up a smile as well.

"What policies?" she cleared her throat and looked up at me.

I narrowed my eyes at her, giving her a look that told her I knew she knew what I was talking about. She sighed softly and shoved a piece of paper into my chest. "A man possessing three powerful summon materia lives at this address. It looks like it's going to take a little bit of negotiating to get them out of his hands."

I frowned. I hadn't had to do any 'negotiating' since I was a Turk. "Do I look like a negotiator?"

"You were a Turk, weren't you? One of the best, right?" She smirked. Though she may have thought she'd danced her way around my question, she hadn't. She knew better than anyone I didn't like talking or thinking about my life as a Turk so I flipped the subject right back around.

"The no-romance-among-employees- policy." I said. "Has it changed?"

She tried giving me a confused look, but it didn't work. Finally she gave in. "If I go down, you do as well, and so does your precious little Xila, and so do your friends Cloud and Tifa. Unless you want us all out of a job I suggest you keep your mouth shut."

I glared at her as she did have a point.

I left her office reading over the information for my next mission. Nibelhiem again… I sighed loudly and left the headquarters to gather some extra clothing and ammunition from my home before leaving town.

∞**Xilamani's POV∞**

Mastering materia must have been something that ran in Yuffie's and my blood. I was much more skilled at using materia than I was with guns. But every once in a while I would go look at the little gun Vincent had customized for me.

"Vincent call yet?" Tifa asked me as I hopped up on a bar stool. A few new customers sat at the other end chatting quietly. I shook my head no. I'd only gotten one call from him in the last two weeks and it was just a hi and bye sort of call. I'd been trying to spy and see if I could see him at the Headquarters, but I could never catch a glimpse of him. Shalua must have kept him busy with missions to collect more materia. Yuffie, Tifa and I just returned from a short trip out to the wastelands where we helped fight off the fiends that had been gathering around the area where they were still planting flowers. Fires had also been mysteriously breaking out in that area causing a rising suspicion that there was someone around who didn't want this plan to work.

"Call him!" she said with a laugh. "He probably just doesn't know what to say. He admitted to me once a long time ago that regardless of the changes in his personality since his past he's always been shy and quiet."

"He knows…I'm shy as well." I said. He should know _me_ better than to think _I'd_ call _him_. I sighed and rested my cheek against my fist as I laid my elbow on the table. Yuffie was the next to ask me about Vincent.

"You want me to call him? He thinks I'm you on the phone anyways. I'll just pretend I'm you." She said clapping her hands together as if she'd just come up with the greatest idea of all time. That couldn't be farther from truth. She'd embarrass me so highly I would never be able to look at him again. I shook my head no.

"Aww, come on! That'd be fun! I wanna hear Vinny sounding all romantic and lovey dovey. I could turn the voice recorder on! Then I'd burn it onto CDs… Yeah! I could make a slideshow of those naughty photos Reno took and have Vinny's voice playing in the background!" She and Tifa laughed loudly until they were both holding their stomachs. I didn't find it funny at all and I knew Vincent wouldn't have either.

All three of us jumped when the cell phone did ring.



"Aww!!" Yuffie and Tifa both said in unison.

I ran away from the bar and upstairs into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi." I smiled as I heard his voice.

"Um…" I hoped he was planning on saying more than hi!

"I'm leaving town tonight." He said softly.

"Oh." I replied trying not to sound disappointed.

"Nibelhiem again."

"I see."

A long silence passed by and I was sure his next sentence would be some sort of farewell, but instead he said.

"I'm ordering Wutain take-out." His monotone didn't let me know if that was an invitation or not so I simply said.

"That sounds nice."

"Is there someone there that could bring you by here? If you want to, that is…" My heart skipped a beat and a grin spread over my face so fast. I didn't care if there was someone to take me or not I'd walk if I had to.

"Yes."

"See you in twenty minutes then?"

"I'll be there."

"Bye." He hung up quickly before I could return the farewell. I spun around to look at myself in the mirror. I ran a brush through my bangs swooping them across my forehead and behind my ear. I pulled my ponytail up and wrapped it around into a bun and used a little bit of Yuffie's lip gloss and dabbed a little bit of her blush on each of my cheeks. It was amazing what a little pink tint could do!

I hurried back downstairs and Cloud offered me a ride on his bike. I couldn't wait to see Vincent!

∞**Vincent's POV∞**

Why was my heart pounding so hard? I did not like this feeling. Not even in my most dangerous missions or scariest nightmares had my heart beat this fast. It wasn't as if this was the first time I'd seen her nor would it be the last. I even took a trip to the bathroom to stare at myself in the mirror for a while. There was not much that I could change about my appearance that wouldn't be obvious so I left my hair alone. I looked down at my shirt. I remember Reno telling me that I should always unbutton the first two buttons otherwise it made me look too stiff. For the first time in my life, I took his advice and unbuttoned them and opened the shirt a little, making a V. It did give me a more relaxed look. As I straightened the collar I heard the door bell ring. I walked quickly into the living room where I'd already had the food sat out on the coffee table and cushions on the floor for Xilamani and I to sit on.

I pulled open the door and looked down at her. The first thing I noticed was the blush on her cheeks and the shine of her lip gloss. I felt a bit more relieved that I wasn't the only one worrying about my appearance.

She smiled shyly and tucked her bangs behind her ear. I glanced behind her at Cloud and sent him a wave to let him know I've got her from here. He zoomed off on his loud motorbike. Xilamani stepped inside and immediately sat down at the coffee table on the black cushion. I shut the door and joined her.

"You look…" Did I want to use the word beautiful, pretty, or nice…? "…nice." I said feeling as if the other two were a bit strong. Then it occurred to me that I should be using strong words. "Beautiful, I mean…"

"Thanks." She smiled again and seemed to be waiting for me to take the first bite of my food before she did. I began eating.

"How's training been?" I asked not wanting this dinner to be silent and pointless.

"Good." She answered. I would always think twice from now on before answering questions so shortly. It made it so much harder for the other person to continue on with conversation.

"I trust Tifa and Yuffie have been taking good care of you?" I didn't know where that brilliant statement came from, but I'm glad it came out the way it did as the slight tension in the room faded.

She laughed softly. "Yes, they have."

I smiled at her when her eyes met mine. "I'm glad."

"How long will you be in Nibelhiem?" she asked me before filling her mouth with more of the spicy chicken. My next question would have been was Tifa feeding her. She was nearly finished with her plate and I still had more than half of mine left.

"I don't know… Cid and Reno are busy so I've been asked to drive there. The drive alone would take two to three days." I ate faster trying to keep up with her. Once we were both finished I carried away the trash into the kitchen and returned to the living room. I sat on the couch and patted the spot next to me so Xilamani would join me. As soon as she was within a foot from me her scent hit my senses and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I didn't so much want to touch her as I knew what that would lead to. I didn't want her feeling like that was all I wanted.

"What time are you leaving?" she asked me looking up at my clock. It was now twenty minutes past seven.

"Eight or eight-thirty." I answered honestly. Nine or ten… I thought. Tomorrow morning… My thoughts began to travel places they shouldn't and I could feel myself getting excited, but I held onto the small amount of willpower I had in me when it came to women and kept my hands off of her for the next half hour as we continued to just talk.

We spoke about Wutai, and the Wutain culture for a while. I shared a few stories with her about some of the places I've travelled around. I even told her a bit about my life when I was a Turk. Being Wutain she had her preconceived notions about people who had been involved with Shinra, but she didn't seem to hold it against me. She and Yuffie were very young during the war between Wutai and Shinra so her hatred didn't run too deep.

"It's almost eight now…" she said softly after a few moments of silence. She'd gotten comfortable and was leaned against me with her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"I know." I whispered. She lifted herself off of me and looked up at me.

"Should I call…"

"I'll take you home…when I'm ready." I smiled at her and she smiled back. I couldn't resist leaning forward to press my lips against hers, but I quickly broke the kiss before it could go any further. Xila didn't look as if she was ready to stop and the longing in her eyes was enough to make me go back in for more. I gently placed my metal hand on the small of her back and used my human hand to cradle her face as I kissed her. I felt her small hands tangle themselves in my hair and slide down my back. That made me tremble a few times and she giggled at me.

"What?" I asked.

She smiled at me and pushed a chunk of hair away from my face. "You're so sensitive."

I stared at her for a long time. "Yes…I suppose I am."

"Someone wouldn't expect that from you." She whispered.

I sighed and then looked at her with a smirk. "Tell me some things I wouldn't expect about you." She situated herself so she was seated in my lap comfortably. She looked away as if she was thinking about it.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm not as innocent…" she tried to pull off a naughty smile, but her young face couldn't pull it off. Everything about her was innocent and we both knew that.

I cuddled her close to me and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, inhaling her scent and felt myself getting tired.

∞**Xilamani's POV∞**

Eight o'clock passed as well as eight-thirty. I knew Vincent had fallen asleep, but I couldn't wake him. I didn't want to ever leave his arms. However as nine o'clock arrived, I decided to wake him up.

He snorted softly as he woke abruptly. "What time is it?" he asked through a yawn. He's lucky I even understood that question.

"Nine-o-five." I answered. "You should get me home."

He nodded and I crawled off his lap as we both stood. He scooped me up in his arms again giving me a long hug before collecting his things and leading me out to his car. Once we arrived at Tifa's bar I leaned over and gave him a short kiss before getting out of his car.

"Bye, Vincent."

"Bye, Xila. I…I'll call you."

"Please do." I said smiling at him. He nodded and drove off. No sooner had he left Yuffie popped outside.

"Don't go in yet!" she said waving her hands wildly. "Cloud and Tifa are bangin each other's brains out upstairs or at least that's what it sounds like." She said gagging.

I laughed softly. She sniffed me.

"You don't smell like sex. You mean to tell me Vincent didn't hit it this time?" It was obvious Yuffie had been spending time with Reno as she'd picked up quite a bit of his slang.

I rolled my eyes. "No, he didn't."

She then went on to tell me about her and Reno's elevator experience earlier that week.


End file.
